Il suo amore
by horseaholic
Summary: TonyOC. Title means His Love in Italian. It's been 9 months since Jenny died and Tony has met someone, but he hasn't introduced her to the team yet. She has a secret that could endanger them both. This is their story. AUish, post  at least  Family.
1. Mystery Girl

_Standard disclaimers apply. I do not own anything, except the storyline and the character Emmy Grace Gerard and all her biological family, stepfamily, and pets. Everything else belongs to Donald Bellisario, genius that he is. I just play around with it all. I also do not own the rights to the original name Stargrounds Coffee Shop (or anything affiliated with it), but I've received permission from my __**AMAZING **__beta, Tiffany331, to use it, so I am. :)_

_Rating: T, because anything less would be boring and not NCIS standard. One chapter in particular could be considered M, but I'll decide that when we get there._

_Just a little note before you guys begin reading, this is my first NCIS story ever posted, so because I have been a big fan of the show for a couple years now— alas, not as long as the show has been airing— I have wanted to write in the category for a while now. I just haven't gotten the guts to post what I've written until now. So please, in your reviews, be gentle. No flames, please, as they will not be appreciated, nor responded to. I will update as frequently as I can, probably once a week, since I've got most of the story written by now, but often, college and life gets in the way. I'll do my best._

_A HUGE thank you to Tiffany311, my beta reader, for allowing me to bounce ideas off her. Without you, there's a good possibility this story would not exist. Thanks, Tiff, you rock!_

_Enjoy._

**Chapter 1— Mystery Girl**

* * *

"OK, make sure you remind Tony that you're all invited to my place Friday night." Abby waved as Ziva and McGee headed out of the forensic lab.

"Sure, Abby," replied McGee.

"Of course," said Ziva.

The two stepped into the elevator and pushed the button to head back up to their floor.

"Friday should be fun, right?" asked Ziva.

"Yeah," McGee said. "Dinner parties at Abby's are always good."

As they walked into the bullpen, they couldn't see Tony anywhere.

"That's strange," Ziva remarked. "Did he leave already?"

"I don't think so." McGee shook his head. "His car is in the shop this week, right?"

"Oh, that's right." Ziva suddenly heard something. "Do you hear that, McGee?"

A hushed conversation was coming from the stairwell. They looked at each other for a minute, puzzled, before their curiosity got the better of them and they made their way over.

Tony was on his cell phone, his back to them. "Right, right... Well, naturally... You didn't... You did? No." He laughed. "No, that's fine, I just didn't expect... Ha, ha, yeah, that's great... OK, see you in a bit."

He stared at his now closed phone with a small smile on his face, still oblivious to his coworkers' presence.

Until Ziva stepped right behind him and spoke directly into his ear. "Tony."

Tony jumped about a foot as he whirled around with a startled yelp. "Ziva!" He glared at her, embarrassed he had been caught off-guard. "Warn a guy before you sneak up on him like that, will ya?"

Ziva scoffed. "That would defeat the purpose, I think," she said coolly. "So who were you talking to?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Tony teased.

"Hmmm." Ziva frowned, narrowing her eyes.

"Abby wanted us to come remind you about her party on Friday night." McGee put in.

"Shoot, is that _this_ Friday?" Tony asked. "Um... I don't think I can come, actually."

"Why not?" asked Ziva.

"Well, I just, I have a... a thing to go to."

"What kind of thing?" McGee asked suspiciously.

"Um, it's sort of a family reunion weekend type of thing. You know." Tony deflected with an easy grin.

"OK, sure," McGee said.

"Do you need a ride home?" Ziva asked.

"From you?" Tony countered. "I don't think so." Ziva glared at him. "Uh, no, that's OK, thanks. It's covered."

"From who?" McGee asked.

"Well, I do have friends besides you guys, you know," Tony said defensively.

"No need to get so defensive. We were just wondering," McGee said.

"Well, don't." Tony exhaled, exasperated, then looked at his watch. "I've gotta go." He grabbed his backpack and headed to the elevator without another word.

Ziva and McGee exchanged another puzzled glance.

"Well that was..."

"Hinky?" Ziva filled in, just as curiously.

"Yeah, kind of," McGee said, nodding.

Ziva raised an eyebrow. "Should we...?" She inclined her head toward the elevator.

McGee grinned. "You read my mind."

They got into the now empty car and rode down to the lobby. Ziva peered cautiously out of the door and spotted Tony just ahead of them leaving through the front of the building.

"Come on, McGee!" she hissed.

They hurried after him, staying to the side of the large glass doors so that Tony wouldn't see them. Very shortly a green Toyota Camry LE pulled up in front and Tony headed over to it. A petite brunette got out and she and Tony exchanged an embrace before he got into the driver's side and she headed to the passenger side.

As the car drove off, Ziva and McGee exchanged yet another puzzled glance, wondering if Tony had a secret girlfriend.

* * *

_Happy Easter, all_.


	2. Life Is Good

_Hey, all. Please forgive me for bumping Tony's age down a little. My reasoning behind this is mainly because Michael Weatherly is the hottest almost-42-year-old alive, and my brain just almost cannot fathom that he really is almost 42 years old, because he's soooo gorgeous and so funny. And two, I also needed Tony to be a little closer in age to my OC, as 14 years was a big gap that needed to be closed a little. McGee is 33, Abby is 34, Gibbs is 52, Ducky is 57, Jimmy is 29 (I've always perceived him as being younger than the others, maturity-wise), and Ziva is 34, all around the same ages the actors and actresses who play them are._

_Oh, and just in case these disclaimer things actually do something, I don't own anything _Anna Karenina _or from _The Fugitive_, one of my favorite movies. Being as this story is focused on Tony, I couldn't resist, though. You'll see a few _Fugitive _references throughout the story, including in this chapter, which, according to Microsoft Word, is almost 13 pages long, nice and long to satisfy you guys until around April 16. :)_

_Thank you, babygurl1944, HookEmHornsTX, lot56 (who reviewed anonymously, so I unfortunately can't answer back), and especially, my __**AMAZING**__, lovely beta, Tiffany331, for reviewing so far. The positive feedback is greatly appreciated._

_P.S. HookEmHornsTX, I read your profile and it says you're looking for an NCIS beta reader? I'd LOVE to beta read for you! I also beta read for my NCIS beta reader, Tiffany331, and I'm looking to beta read for other NCIS authors, too, so if you're willing, I'll beta for you as much as I can. Send me a PM, if you'd like that. :)_

_Enjoy._

**Chapter 2— Life Is Good**

* * *

"So where are we going?" the petite brunette asked, from where she sat in the passenger seat, next to Tony.

"Oh, I dunno, Em, I was thinking... Matchbox Pizza," Tony suggested.

"That sounds great," Emmy said. "I should have known you would want pizza."

"You'd probably be disappointed if I didn't," Tony said, grinning at her.

Emmy smiled. "Pepperoni?" she asked.

"Of course," Tony said.

"Can I have sausage, too?" Emmy asked.

"We can split it half-and-half, sure," Tony said, smiling.

They arrived at Matchbox Pizza and a waitress seated them.

"Can I start you out with something to drink?" the waitress asked.

"I'll have water and a glass of lemonade, please," Emmy said.

"Water for me as well, and a Diet Coke, too," Tony said.

"All right, I'll be right back with those drinks, to give you a few minutes to figure out what you want to order for the entrée," the waitress said.

"Thank you," Emmy said. She looked across the table at Tony. "You know, you should maybe order a salad or something before the pizza. It would be healthier for you—"

"Pizza is healthy for you," Tony argued playfully, but stubbornly.

Emmy rolled her eyes, slightly frustrated. "And you would be tempted to eat less pizza," she finished, just as stubbornly.

"Hey, I do work it all off," Tony said, flashing a sexy grin.

Emmy sighed. "Can you not even be the least bit cooperative?" she asked, half joking, half exasperated.

"But pizza _is_ healthy for you," Tony said again. Emmy narrowed her brilliant green eyes suspiciously at him. He ticked off the reasons on his fingers. "You have tomato sauce, so you have vegetables, and you can _add _real veggies, if you want; cheese, so you have dairy; pepperoni, so you have meat, so protein; and crust, so you have carbohydrates. So excuse me"— he grinned— "if I like extra dairy."

Emmy rolled her eyes again, but she was smiling. "All right, fine, but at least have a bite of my salad," she said. "It doesn't have any dressing on it, because you know I hate dressing, and it's not iceberg lettuce, so it's actually really good lettuce."

Tony eyed her suspiciously, then surrendered. "All right, fine," he said, "I'll have a bite."

"Good boy," Emmy said, laughing.

Tony smiled half-heartedly, then took a bite of Emmy's salad off her fork. He forced himself to chew, then swallowed, attempting whole-heartedly not to make a sour face. To cover up the bitter taste, he helped himself to their appetizer: meatball rolls with cheese and vegetables.

After waiting a few minutes, just to be safe, Ziva and McGee got out of McGee's car and headed into the restaurant. They wanted to know more about this secret woman Tony was seeing. They luckily found a booth diagonally across from the couple, where Tony couldn't see them, as his back was to them. The woman could see them, but they weren't too worried about that, since they doubted she knew who they were. A waitress brought them menus, which they immediately brought up to their faces and fake-read, hiding all but the tops of their heads and their eyes from view in case the couple should turn and spot them.

"Can I start by getting you anything to drink?" the waitress asked.

"Water, please," McGee said.

"Water for me, also," Ziva said. The waitress nodded and left to get them two glasses of ice water. She looked at McGee from behind the menu and lowered her voice. "After all, it is free and we are not staying."

McGee nodded in agreement.

The waitress brought their glasses of water, and they each took a sip, as if attempting to satisfy her.

"Are you ready to order?" the waitress asked.

"Not yet," Ziva said. "We are still deciding."

"OK," the waitress said. "I'll be back in a few minutes to see if you've decided."

She left and McGee, who had his back to Tony and Emmy, turned around to sneak a peek at the couple. He could see they were talking, though he couldn't make out any conversation.

McGee turned back around, dissatisfied. "What are they doing?" he asked Ziva.

"How long do you suppose they have been dating? And why hasn't Tony told us about her?" Ziva asked, not answering him.

"I don't know," McGee said. "If he hasn't told us, he must have his reasons."

Emmy began to get slightly suspicious of the strange people staring at her. She couldn't think of why anyone would be spying on her, so she convinced herself it was nothing and went back to acting normally.

Ziva quickly leaned forward over the table and held a menu level with her and McGee's faces, then suddenly pulled McGee into a kiss. McGee's eyes widened with shock. However, it ended as quickly as it had begun, and Ziva again peered over the menu at Tony and Emmy.

"Ziva, what...?" McGee stammered, blinking. He was rendered speechless for a moment.

"That was for cover," Ziva said, narrowing her eyes accusingly. "You better not have enjoyed that," she added threateningly.

"No, no, of course not," McGee insisted, shaking his head. He was quite shell-shocked.

Back at Tony and Emmy's table, her suspicions and uncomfortable feelings vanished when Tony pulled out a small box. Her heart immediately began to race. She stared at Tony.

"Tony, what's this?" she asked.

He slid the box across the table to her. "Open it," he said.

Emmy took a moment to ease her breathing. "I don't know if I'm ready," she said, beginning to choke up.

"It's OK," Tony assured her, misunderstanding. "Just open it when you are."

Meanwhile, at Ziva and McGee's table, the waitress had returned to take their order, but they had sent her away once more, again stating they were not ready yet. The waitress, getting annoyed, left again, with a roll of her eyes. Ignoring the fact that Tony could turn around and spot him at any second, McGee had craned his head around and was staring at the couple, just as Ziva was.

"Is he proposing to her?" Ziva hissed at him, from across the table.

McGee shrugged hesitantly. "Maybe; it's definitely a ring box," he said.

Emmy's hands shook as she opened the ring box. To her surprise, it wasn't a diamond ring, but a silver band. She looked up at him, confused.

"It's a promise ring," Tony said.

"Oh," Emmy said awkwardly. "It's beautiful. But I don't wear rings."

Emmy had never been a wearer of jewelry, even when she was little; sometimes, for special occasions, she would wear a necklace, but her hands were always bare. Her twin sister Lucy, however, could always be seen wearing rings and necklaces.

"I know. That's why," Tony said, pulling out another, longer box and opening it, "I bought this, too." He pulled out a medium blue-colored chain. "I figured you could put it on the chain and wear it that way, if you wanted."

"Thank you," Emmy said, "that was very thoughtful of you."

Tony smiled.

Meanwhile, a rather large man had sat at a table between the watchers and the being-watched, and now blocked Ziva's view of the scene, no matter which way she stretched.

"McGee," Ziva whispered, "can you see what is going on? Is it an engagement ring? Did she accept it? Tell me what is happening!" she demanded.

"I... can't tell." McGee was also having a hard time seeing the other table.

Both he and Ziva leaned as far out of the booth as they dared. Ziva stared as long as she could, until she saw that the woman with Tony was looking straight at them.

Emmy caught sight of the strange couple who she thought had been watching her and Tony. This time, she was certain they were staring.

"Tony, did you see that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"The only thing I see is you, Emmy," Tony said coyly, smiling.

"I think someone's watching us."

When the woman continued speaking to Tony, Ziva, knowing they were close to getting caught, grabbed McGee's hand and pulled him toward the door.

"Come on, McGee, we have to get out of here!" she whispered frantically.

Their waitress came around again, as they ran toward the door, doing their best to be quick and sneaky at the same time. She frowned, visibly annoyed that they hadn't ordered anything.

"Er, sorry," McGee stammered awkwardly, as Ziva continued to pull him away, "turns out we're not hungry. Have a nice night."

Without another word, they rushed out the door. A second later, Tony turned to look. He thought he caught a glimpse of the back of McGee's head exiting the restaurant, but he hadn't gotten a good enough look. Since both had finished eating, Tony asked Emmy, "Are you ready to go?"

Emmy nodded, finishing drinking her glass of lemonade. They paid with Tony's VISA card, got up and took hands, then left the restaurant. As they were walking toward Emmy's Camry, Tony swore he saw McGee's car driving away from the restaurant, with two passengers inside.

"What are you looking at?" Emmy asked.

"I thought I just saw..." Tony began, but he wasn't sure, so he was confused. "Never mind, let's go. Are you ready?"

Emmy nodded, then climbed into the passenger seat and left with Tony.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Emmy and Tony walked through the front door of Tony's apartment, their arms around each other. Tony leaned down and kissed Emmy on the cheek, then on the lips. Emmy giggled happily.

"I had a great time tonight," she said.

"Good, I'm glad," Tony said, smiling.

"But I'm curious, when am I going to be able to meet the team?" Emmy asked.

"I don't know, Em," Tony said hesitantly, worriedly, "things are complicated."

"What's complicated?" Emmy asked, surprised, looking up at him. "We've been dating for almost five months now. You just gave me jewelry for our four-month anniversary. That's pretty serious. We spend so much time together, and I love that, but I know you have other friends, too, and I'd like to meet them. Especially your team— it's about time I met your other family."

"Thank you," Tony pointed out, "for calling them my 'other' family."

Emmy nodded and frowned, confused. "What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Let's just say I have a... not-so-good relationship with my father," he said. "And stuff that's happened to me before... I don't know if the team is ready to see me with someone new yet." Tony knew it was a lame excuse, even for him, but he couldn't help but say it.

"So I won't meet your actual family, if that makes you uncomfortable, or if you don't want me to," Emmy said. "No big deal. I just want to meet this boss and coworkers you've told me about."

"Hmm," Tony considered. She had convinced him to quit worrying about it and just do it. "Well, all right, seeing as we have an opportunity for that anyway."

"What opportunity?" Emmy asked.

"Abby is having a dinner party at her place this Friday night," Tony said. "We could go together."

"Were you planning on going without me?" Emmy asked, not accusingly.

"No, I wasn't planning on going at all, actually," Tony said, "with or without you. I was going to skip the party to hang out with you more."

"Tony, as much as I love it, I don't want you to feel obligated to spend so much time with me," Emmy said. "We need to have our own lives, too."

"But I want you to be part of my life," Tony said. "You already are a very important part of my life."

Emmy smiled. "I appreciate that, but you see my point," she said.

"Yes, I do," Tony said. "OK, let's go to the dinner party on Friday, and you can meet the team then. Gibbs might not be there, but if he is, you'll meet him, too."

"OK, sounds good," Emmy said, smiling again. A grey cat came over to her, meowing. Emmy bent down and petted it. "Hi, Duchess, how was your day?" Duchess meowed again, this time impatiently, as Tony also bent down to pet her. "Alright, I'll feed you. Come on."

Duchess meowed again and followed Emmy into the kitchen area, her tail held high. Emmy opened a cupboard, inside which cat food was stored and there was also a trash can, and gave Duchess a full bowl of dry cat food to eat.

"There, satisfied?" she remarked at Duchess. The cat ignored her, having now attention for only her meal, so Emmy rolled her eyes and went with Tony into the living room area.

"I swear, she is the biggest pig of a cat I've ever seen," Emmy remarked.

Tony smiled and opened his arms, inviting her into his strong, gentle hold. They lay down on the couch together, Emmy lying against Tony's chest. For a few moments, they simply listened to each other breathe.

"Remember the day we met?" Tony asked quietly.

"Of course," Emmy said. "I spilled Gibbs' coffee on you and you traded me dry-cleaning for a date."

Tony smiled fondly, remembering.

_Tony walked into Stargrounds Coffee Shop to get coffee for everyone, while they were all on morning break. He went up to the counter, where a petite brunette came to take his order._

"_What can I get for you?" she asked._

"_One tall, strong, straight black," Tony said, "one caramel vanilla latte with three sugars, one green tea, and one bottled water, please. I'll pay extra if you make them fast..."— he read her nametag— "Emmy. I promise this isn't all for me."_

"_OK," Emmy said. She handed him the green tea and bottled water, then turned away from him and began to make the latte. His presence made her very nervous, for he was very cute and she felt a rush of instant attraction to him._

_When she was finished making the latte and filling the other coffee cup with straight black coffee, she turned around so quickly, the cup with black coffee in it flew out of her hands, and all over Tony's three-piece suit and tie._

_Tony jumped back with a shout; he was more startled than scalded._

"_Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," Emmy said. "Are you OK?"_

"_I'm fine," Tony said, thrusting his hands sharply to the floor to shake off the coffee. He wiped off what remained with a napkin. "Tomorrow, they'll be just more scars."_

_He regretted this remark when he saw she was visibly upset, but holding back her emotions well._

"_I didn't mean it that way," he said. "I'm fine, really."_

"_Well, all right," Emmy said. "At least let me pay for dry-cleaning."_

"_OK," Tony said, smiling at her, "as long as I can pay for a movie."_

"_Excuse me?" she asked._

"_You pay for my dry-cleaning, I'll pay for us to see a movie," Tony said, winking at her for good measure._

"_You're very forward," Emmy said, taken aback. "I just burned you with coffee—"_

"_Not mine," Tony said, smirking, "luckily, my boss's; or maybe unluckily, I'm not sure yet."_

"— _and you're asking me out on a date?" she finished, lowering her voice._

"_It's a simple question," Tony said, a little frustrated._

"_Hmmm..." She narrowed her brilliant green eyes at him. "Well, all right. I get off at five."_

"_Great, so do I," Tony said, grinning. She brought him a refilled cup of black coffee, which he took before she could spill it again. "Thank you. See you later, with the dry-cleaning."_

_Emmy smiled, blushed, then went back to work._

"I never did get scars from that, you know," Tony said to Emmy, as the memory ended. Duchess, finished with her evening meal, walked daintily into the living room and lay down on the floor next to them. "I had had worse injuries before. Gunshot, plague..."

Emmy chuckled. "I felt so bad for doing that to you, but it turned out well," she said.

"Yeah, it did," Tony said. "We watched _Pirates of the Caribbean_ that night."

"Then we stayed up for hours discussing our favorite movies and stuff. You had my number by the end of the night."

"You hated horror," Tony said.

"I still do," Emmy said, shaking her head. "But we soon agreed on one movie in particular—"

"_The Fugitive_," Tony said.

Emmy nodded and smiled, as she remembered another first moment.

"_So how old are you, Tony?" Emmy asked, as Tony ejected the DVD and put in another._

"_I'm 35," Tony said. "I'll be 36 in July."_

"_Really?" Emmy asked. "I'll be 28 in April."_

"_I feel like I'm robbing the cradle. What's your last name?" Tony asked her._

"_Gerard," Emmy said._

"_No way," Tony said disbelievingly, "really?"_

"_Yes, really," Emmy said._

"_Like—" Tony began._

"_Samuel Gerard, in _The Fugitive_," they finished together. They laughed._

"_Yes," Emmy said, smirking, "only I was born 10 years earlier."_

_Tony grinned. "Where are you from?" he asked._

"_Boston. I'm a court reporter full-time here in D.C. I graduated from Boston University in 2003 with a degree in court reporting and criminal justice. I hope to work for the Supreme Court someday_,_" Emmy said._

"_Boston University, really?" Tony asked._

_Emmy nodded. _"_Where do you work now?" she asked._

"_N.C.I.S.," Tony said._

"_Wow," Emmy said, "that's intense."_

"_Yeah, it is," Tony said. "I love it. Do you have any brothers and sisters?"_

"_Yes," Emmy said. "I have a twin sister named Lucy, an older brother named James, and a younger sister named Rose. My parents divorced when I was eight, but remarried different people by the time I was 15. We have two dogs, a cat, and two horses. The cat is the only pet living with me, though; the others are all at home. My landlord loves Duchess and thinks she's part human, or she wouldn't be allowed."_

_Tony nodded. "I'm an only child," he said. "There isn't much to say about my parents. My mom died when I was eight, but my dad is still alive and an alcoholic. We had sea monkeys and a hamster."_

"_I'm sorry about your mom and dad, Tony," Emmy said._

"_Me too," Tony said. "But you can't choose your families, no matter how much you might want to sometimes."_

"_True," Emmy said._

"_My dad and I have pretty much accepted that things will not change," Tony said._

_Emmy nodded._

"'_All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way'," Tony said._

"Anna Karenina_," Emmy said, recognizing the quote._

"_Right," Tony said. "I've never read it. I have seen the movie versions, though."_

"_I read it once when I was 17. I couldn't read it again. I just remember that quote, because it's the first line," Emmy said. "There are movie versions?"_

_Tony laughed and kissed her temple. "Yeah, there are; 1935 and 1997, starring Greta Garbo, Sean Bean and Fiona Shaw, also known as Boromir in _Lord of the Rings, _and Petunia Dursley in the _Harry Potter _movies."_

"_Really? I might have to watch that one," Emmy said. "I'm a _Harry Potter_ fanatic."_

"_You're kidding?" Tony asked. "OK, so I'll admit I've read those, probably more than anything else I've read."_

"_Me too," Emmy said. "I've read 1-5 about twenty times each, 6 about five times, and I've read 7 twice. My hardcover first-editions are falling apart at the seams from over reading."_

"_That's upsetting," Tony said. "So you want me to try and make up with my dad and introduce you to him?"_

"_No," Emmy said, "not if you don't want to. People have to learn to be happy with what they have."_

"_I am happy," Tony said. "I have a great job. I'm with you. Life is good."_

_Emmy smiled and leaned up to kiss him. "I agree," she said, lying against his chest, "life is good."_

_

* * *

__**Important:** I need suggestions for a sarcastic-but-loving Gibbs excuse/remark for being late to Abby's dinner party in the next chapter, because, well, he will be, but I'm blank, unfortunately, and so is my beta reader, Tiffany331, as much as we've been thinking on it for weeks. Please leave suggestions in reviews! Thanks! You guys have a week to think about it, as I'll update next around the 16th. I'm glad reviewers seem to be enjoying the story so far._

_I knew to become a court reporter, formal education is required, so I did a little research on the subject, but didn't find much. There were no real results for specific schools that offered that major/degree, at least not that I found, so I picked Boston University, knowing it would connect to Tony._

_Please review!_


	3. Dinner Party and Honesty

_Just in case these disclaimers actually do something, I don't own any _Subzero: Batman and Mr. Freeze_ (1998, animated) quotes that are possibly used or referred to or implied in this chapter and the next. Warner Bros. does; I just play with them._

_My thanks go out to Anne Fairymaker for her sarcastic-but-fond-toward-Abby Gibbs excuse for being late to her dinner party, which is the main focus of this chapter. I decided to update tonight because I am going to be busy tomorrow night and Sunday, so it didn't hurt to update a little earlier than usual. Here is chapter 3. Enjoy._

**Chapter 3— Dinner Party and Honesty**

* * *

"Thank goodness it is finally Friday, huh?" Tony asked, talking to Abby in her forensics lab, a couple hours before the party was to commence on Friday night.

"Yeah, I'm totally stoked for the party tonight," Abby said.

"I wasn't expecting you to still be here, Abby," Tony said. "I figured you'd be out of here, getting ready."

"Oh, everything is already set, Tony," Abby reassured him, smiling. "So, does you asking me about it mean you're coming?"

"Yeah," Tony said. "I recently made up my mind that I am coming. So I just came down to let you know I'll be bringing a guest."

"Oh?" Abby asked, curiously. "Who's coming with you?"

"You'll see," Tony said, smiling mysteriously at her.

Abby cocked an eyebrow at him, her curiosity piqued. "I knew it!" she exclaimed excitedly. "You are seeing someone, aren't you? You've been acting all happy for months." Tony said nothing. "You know," she threatened, "Ziva and McGee told me you made a mysterious phone call from your cell the other day. Need I remind you, I _can _look at your phone records to see who you've been calling lately?"

Tony rolled his eyes and put on a pout face. "No, come on, Abbs, please," he pleaded with her.

Abby narrowed her eyes stubbornly for a moment. Tony didn't move. Then she relented. "Well, all right," she said, "but you have to promise to tell me everything later."

"I promise," Tony said, smiling. Inwardly, he sighed with relief. He hated hiding Emmy from everyone like this, but he wanted to make sure he revealed her to them just when the time was right. That time was approaching quickly.

"So do you think Tony will bring this secret girl he has been dating?" Ziva asked McGee, as they walked down together to Abby's lab. They knew Tony was down there and they wanted to corner him on his way out, so they could find out who this secret girlfriend was.

"Probably," McGee said. "After what we saw the other night, I can't imagine why not."

A smiling Tony suddenly came walking out of the forensic lab.

"McGee!" Ziva hissed. In a flash, she grabbed McGee by the arm and dragged him around a corner to hide. Tony went past and didn't see them. Ziva snuck up on him again and said, "So, Tony, who is this secret girl you are bringing to the party?"

Tony jumped. "Ziva," he said quickly, his eyes flashing, "when are you gonna quit _doing _that?"

"Hmm," Ziva said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously at him, "as soon as you tell us who this mystery girl is you are bringing to the party."

"What mystery girl?" Tony lied.

"Well, Tony, it would be really awkward if you brought a guy," McGee teased him.

"What makes you think I'm bringing anyone at all?" Tony asked him.

"You would not have been down to see Abby, if you had not changed your mind, no?" Ziva said shrewdly. "You also would not be avoiding the subject, like you are, if you had decided not to go."

Tony narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her, and she knew she had caught him. He paused for a moment, looking between Ziva and McGee. Then he gave in, rolling his eyes.

"All right, all right, yeah, I'm bringing someone," he said. "You guys will meet her at the party, though. I'm not spoiling the surprise before then. There, ya happy?" He shot them an annoyed look.

Satisfied, Ziva and McGee smiled at each other. They had both gotten what they wanted and heard what they wanted to hear.

"Good," Ziva said, as she and McGee made to leave and go back upstairs to the bullpen. "We will both see you there, then."

Tony laughed sarcastically, a little annoyed that they had gotten to him. "Yeah, you will," he said.

* * *

Tony stood at the foot of the stairs at Emmy's apartment, waiting for her to finish getting ready so they could get to Abby's dinner party. She had told him five minutes when he had arrived, but it had been that and more, and he was afraid they were going to be late.

"Come on, Em. If you don't hurry up, I'm going to have to shave again," Tony muttered, getting anxious, as he checked his watch for the third time.

Then he looked up and saw Emmy descending the stairs, dressed in long green gauchos, a white dressy tank top, and sunflower-yellow ballet flats.

"Wow," Tony said, under his breath. Emmy smiled as she met him at the foot of the stairs and they kissed. "You look great."

"Thanks," Emmy said, grinning. "Sorry I took so long. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, absolutely," Tony said, smiling, his heart racing. "Are you excited?"

"Yes," Emmy said. "I can't wait to meet your team. Especially Abby, with as much as you talk about her."

"And let's not forget McProbius," Tony said.

"Why do you call him stuff like that?" Emmy asked.

"Well, he is the Probie, always has been and always will be," Tony said. "It just means his position on the team is probationary, and will be until someone else enters his job and he gets McPromoted. He thought he was, when Ziva joined the team, but it turned out she knew her stuff so well, he was still the Probie."

"And the 'McNicknames?" Emmy asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, that's a good one," Tony said, laughing. Emmy gave him a look and he became serious. "His last name is McGee, so I like to mix things up, whether they have 'Mc' in them or not, to give him grief," he explained. "He's never really cared."

Emmy nodded. "Ah," she said.

They got into Tony's 1966 Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 and drove to Abby's apartment. They climbed a few flights of stairs, to her fifth-floor walk-up, and knocked. They could already hear the heavy metal music.

It took Abby all of two seconds to answer the door.

"Tony!" she exclaimed fondly, bounding over to hug Tony.

"Hey, Abby," Tony said, hugging her. She stepped back and allowed him to give her a quick once-over; she was wearing a red sleeveless top with a ruffled V-neckline, a black skirt, black-and-white stockings, and Mary Janes, her hair up in her usual pigtails. "Nice outfit."

"Thanks," Abby said, smiling. "Come in, come in!"

Tony glanced at Emmy and smiled as they walked in. Abby led them over to her living room area, had them sit down in chairs, then brought out the hors d'oeurvres: vegetable-and-meat shish kebabs, fruit salad, and a crackers, cheese, and meat tray; on it, Swiss, jalapeño, and American and cheddar cheese, as well as sliced ham, turkey, and summer sausage.

"Go ahead and help yourself," Abby said. She turned to Emmy. "Hi, I'm Abby."

"Hi, Abby, I'm Emmy," Emmy said, smiling and shaking Abby's hand.

"We've all been very excited to meet you," Abby said.

Emmy nodded. "Likewise; I've been bugging Tony to let me meet you guys, too," she said.

The doorbell rang, and Abby went to answer the door, while Tony helped himself to the crackers, summer sausage, and cheddar cheese. They heard her exclaim happily and the sounds of likely hugs. She came back, accompanied by Ziva, McGee, Jimmy, and Ducky.

"It looks great, Abby," McGee said, commenting on the food and décor.

"Thanks, McGee," Abby said, smiling. "Ziva, McGee, Ducky, Jimmy, this is Emmy."

"Aren't I supposed to be the one giving the introductions, Abby?" Tony asked.

"Well, you hadn't yet, so I did," Abby pointed out.

"Hello, Emmy, I am Ziva," Ziva said, holding out her hand, which Emmy shook.

"I'm Tim," Tim said, also shaking Emmy's hand.

"I'm Doctor Mallard, also known as Ducky," Ducky said, shaking Emmy's hand in turn.

"And I'm Jimmy," Jimmy said, smiling and shaking Emmy's hand last.

Emmy smiled and nodded. "It's nice to finally meet you all," she said.

She turned to Tony.

"But where's—" they began together.

"Great party, Abbs," Gibbs' voice said, from behind them. He had, of course, come in unnoticed and without ringing the doorbell.

Abby whirled around. "Gibbs!" she exclaimed happily, hugging him. She released him and gave him a stern look. "You're late."

"I got delayed. The usual cashier girl wasn't at Stargrounds, so I got stuck waiting on a trainee cashier and my order was all wrong. Eventually, I asked to make it myself, then she got it right," Gibbs said smoothly, smiling at her. As he took a sip from his coffee, Abby didn't smile. She pulled the cup away from his mouth, as he tried to take another sip. "The food looks great. Everything looks great."

Abby did smile then and gave him back his cup. "'Threatened her' is more like it," she said to him. "Go ahead and help yourselves," she added rhetorically. "Penne pasta with Italian sausage and organic, freshly made red sauce with tomatoes is for dinner."

"That sounds wonderful, Abigail," Ducky said.

Abby smiled again.

"So how long have you two been dating?" Ziva asked Emmy, glancing at McGee.

"Since November, so almost five months," Emmy said.

"Ah," Ziva said. "How come we have not met you before now? Tony has never been so hesitant, under normal circumstances."

Emmy glanced at Tony nervously; she wondered what 'normal circumstances' were.

Tony had a look on his face that was just as awkward, as if caught in the act. "Well, now you have met her, so it's all great, right?" Tony asked quickly, frowning at Ziva, as if daring her to argue.

"Right," Ziva said, unconvinced.

Everyone helped themselves to appetizers, then proceeded to have dinner, all sitting in the living room area, where the music was playing. When everyone was finished eating, McGee helped Abby with dishes, then Abby pulled them all out to dance, but Gibbs and Ducky remained behind to talk. It was rather crowded and quickly got warm.

The CD that had been playing since they arrived came to an end and Abby switched it out. "Fever" by Peggy Lee came on, and Tony held out his hand.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow seductively at Emmy.

Emmy smiled, feeling jittery and warm inside. "Sure," she said.

Tony led Emmy into the middle of the living room floor and began to dance with her. Emmy couldn't take her eyes off him. She was waiting to hear the three words she so desired, because she knew it was how she felt about him.

"_Never know how much I love you, never know how much you care,_" Tony sang to her, as the team, including Gibbs, watched them dance and sing. "_When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that's so much to bear._"

"_You give me fever, when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight_," Emmy sang back to him. "_Fever in the morning, fever all through the night_."

As the song came to an end, they sang together, "_But what a lovely way to burn_," then came together in a hug, followed by a kiss.

Ziva leaned over and whispered into McGee's ear. "He really does love her," she said, more of a question than a statement in her tone.

McGee nodded, as the music came to an end, and Abby went to put on another song. "Yeah, he must," he said quietly, during the silence between songs. "Haven't seen him like this since Jeanne."

McGee didn't know Emmy overheard this. She acted like she hadn't, though she was confused; who was this 'Jeanne'?

Abby brought out some alcohol and began to bartend at her small island, giving Gibbs bourbon on the rocks, Tony a Rum and Coke, Ducky a Tom and Jerry, and Jimmy, McGee, and herself margaritas.

"What would you like to drink, Emmy?" Abby asked her.

"Oh, just water, please, Abby," Emmy said. "I don't drink."

"OK," Abby said, and she got Emmy a glass of ice water, before putting on "Stolen", by Dashboard Confessional.

Tony and Emmy wrapped their arms around each other and danced in slow circles. Emmy slowly inhaled the scent of his cologne, resting her head on his chest, where she fit just right. She listened to his heart beating and could feel the vibrations from his soft, low singing.

"_You have stolen my heart_," Tony sang softly in her ear. "_You have stolen my heart._"

After several moments' pause, Emmy said, "I love you, Tony."

Tony smiled. "I love you, too, Em," he said.

Emmy lifted her head and looked up at him. "You don't have to," she said. "Don't say it if you don't mean it, or if you're scared."

Tony looked down at her seriously. "I do mean it," he said. "I wouldn't say it, if I didn't; and what about you?"

"Neither would I," Emmy agreed, seriously. For a moment, she seemed to be getting upset. "I need some air."

"So do I," Tony said. He grabbed his and her coats and went out onto Abby's back porch with her.

"It's a beautiful night," Emmy said, looking up at the pristine sky.

"Yeah, it is," Tony said. "You know, when I was little, before my mom died, sometimes in the summer, I would camp out in my parents' backyard in a tent and watch the stars until the sun came up the next morning."

Emmy smiled. "That sounds like fun," she said.

Tony smiled. "It was," he said. "One time, our sprinkler system came on at three in the morning and flooded everything. Most things managed to be salved, but it was a mess." He looked at her. "Hey, do you wanna dance some more?"

"Sure," Emmy said.

"OK," Tony said. "It's chilly out here anyway."

Emmy nodded in agreement. "But first, I want to ask you something," she said.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Well, uh, I was wondering..." Emmy began.

"What?" Tony asked again, more eagerly.

"Do you want to meet my family this weekend?" Emmy asked.

"Sure, with whom?" Tony asked, teasing her.

Emmy laughed. "With me," she said.

"Oh..." Tony said, feigning a contemplating face and turning away from her.

"We can go to the Boston aquarium and go horseback riding and my mom has miles of acreage to go for walks..." Emmy said, ticking the reasons off on her fingers.

Her rambling told him he had succeeded in making her a little nervous, even though he was goofing around. He turned around and grinned. "Sounds fun, I'd love to."

"Really?" Emmy asked happily. She laughed and took Tony into her arms. "Hey, that's great."

Tony smiled and they held each other close, watching the stars and listening to the crickets chirp quantily.

* * *

Tony and Emmy arrived back at Tony's place after Abby's party.

"I had a great time, didn't you?" Tony asked her, as they lay down on his couch together in the living room.

"Yes," Emmy said. "It was a great party. I'm comfortable with everyone now. I'm glad I met them. They seem like great people and a really close family."

"Good," Tony said, kissing her. He smiled and began to kiss her neck. Emmy shuddered, and Tony immediately pulled back. "You OK?"

"Yes," Emmy said, "that just felt amazing."

Tony smiled. "Mmm, good," he said, and he began to kiss her again.

But then he stopped.

"Why are you stopping?" Emmy asked.

"I need to ask you something," Tony said.

"What?"

"When I said I loved you at the party tonight, why didn't you believe me?" Tony asked.

"Well, you said things are complicated, so I wasn't sure if you were certain," Emmy said nervously. "I don't want things to be complicated between us, especially since I don't know what's complicated."

Tony nodded. "They aren't," he said. "I was just scared. But I'm not anymore."

"Good," Emmy said. Tony resumed nuzzling and kissing her neck. After a few moments, she asked, "Who's Jeanne?"

Tony froze. "How do you know about Jeanne?" he asked suddenly.

"McGee mentioned her name at the party to Ziva," Emmy said. "I don't think he knows I overheard."

"OK, now I'm gonna go kill him," Tony said angrily.

He made to let go of her and get off the couch, but Emmy grabbed him and sat up. "Tony, wait, don't," she said. "Why are you angry? What did McGee do wrong? He didn't even know I overheard. I just want to know. I don't want us to be dishonest with each other."

"She's nobody, Em," Tony said defensively, standing up. "I'm with you now. She doesn't matter anymore."

Emmy looked up at him, concerned. She had never seen this defensive, angry, bitter side of him before, and it scared her. "What happened between you and her?" she asked. "Please tell me."

"Do you _want _to hear it?" Tony asked.

The challenge was clear, but Emmy didn't care. "I asked."

"I was undercover, investigating her father, who was an arms dealer," Tony said. "While I was undercover, I messed up and got close to her. I shouldn't have, because it clouded my judgment. She eventually discovered I had lied to her about everything, by creating a false identity and everything, and she didn't believe me when I told her I loved her."

His hazel eyes, filled with anger, resentment, and hurt, locked with her green ones, filled with concern and confusion.

"I eventually told her we had never had a relationship, that she was nothing to me anymore, and that I never wanted to see her again. She left, with nothing but a letter left for me, that I had to choose between her and my team, and I choose my team. So I haven't seen or heard from her since, except once, when her father's body was found and Jenny..."

He paused for a moment, as the familiar name brought back painful memories of Jenny's death, one more thing for which he felt at fault in his NCIS career.

"Who's Jenny?" Emmy asked, confused.

"The late Director," Tony said, his voice filled with animosity. "She was killed in the line of duty. Six months before I met you."

Emmy looked alarmed. "I'm sorry, Tony."

Tony, looking troubled, nodded. "Jenny was the prime suspect in Jeanne's father's death, but Jeanne blamed me for it," he said.

"That's horrible," Emmy said.

"Yeah, well, it was because I wanted her father dead, and I was working on making it happen when I was undercover with her," Tony said. He looked down at her. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before now."

Emmy nodded wearily. "It's OK," she said.

"And it's funny," Tony said hollowly, bitterly, "that's what Jeanne said, when I was with her— that she was glad we could be openly honest with each other. Well, I screwed that up."

Emmy placed her hand on his face. "But that's over now," she said. "Jeanne is gone and Jenny is dead. There's nothing more you can do. I don't want our relationship to be affected by it."

"But it _is _affected by it, Em," Tony said, backing away a couple steps. "Don't you see? Every woman I am involved with, in any way, or love or... ends up getting hurt or killed. I don't want to happen to you, to us."

"You don't want to be with me?" Emmy asked him, even more confused. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Yes, Em, I _do _want to be with you," Tony insisted. "That's why I can't do this wrong or screw this up. Don't you see?"

Emmy nodded. "Yes, I see," she said. She held out her hand. "Come here."

Tony swallowed hard, sighed deeply, then sat down next to her. She took him into her arms and held him tightly, running her shaking hands through his soft hair.

"Shhh, Tony," she whispered softly. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. It's gonna be OK."

* * *

_Just to clarify, "Stolen" by Dashboard Confessional is from their 2006 CD, "Dusk and Summer" and it's a great song, hence why I decided to use it as one of the songs at Abby's party. And of course, Peggy Lee's "Fever" is a classic._

_Please review and I'll update again in a week! Feedback is always appreciated. Thanks._


	4. Family

_Ah. It's been a heck of a week. School is pretty stressful at this point, because we only have a week and a half ish left of classes, then finals week, and I STILL don't have a summer job, as much as I'm trying and waiting on 2, soon to be 3, different possibilities that are taking far too long for my patience, ugh! Also had the first-ever major fight with my best girl friend, about lots of things that have happened over the past 2 years we've gone to college together, that drives us both crazy, because we spend so much time together ("Familiarity breeds contempt," was one of the many, many things she said), but I think we're OK now. It will take time and it will be something that needs to be consistently worked on, if it's going to work out in the end. And we both need to expand our social circles, a lot. I know that probably sounds juvenile, but it was very intense and upsetting and made for a completely horrible day (Tuesday). And I've got family in the hospital, too, so lots of things going on here and there and everywhere. Honestly, with everything that has been going on lately, I couldn't remember when I had last updated__- and that was only a week ago! Gosh, I can't wait for summer. Luckily, this dreadful week has flown by really fast- which is both good and bad- so I can still bring you chapter 4.  
_

_As I said in chapter 3, all I'm going to say is I don't own any references to, or quotes from, _Subzero: Batman and Mr. Freeze_ (1998). Warner Bros. does. But I've watched it countless times since I was little (it was released when I was nine), so I couldn't resist using some quotes from, and references to, it._

_A shout-out goes to new reviewers, sarahsrr, Mikeyjoe512 (sorry I didn't acknowledge you before now, for some reason, I only just now noticed your review, so I also must not have replied; my apologies!), and Pat Toby. Thanks for R&R'ing! As per usual, this chapter is also brought to you partly by the help from my **WONDERFUL **beta, Tiffany331!!_

_I apologize for the monster pre-chapter author note. I'm shutting up now. Here is chapter 4._

**Chapter 4— Family**

* * *

"So what are your weekend plans, Tony?" Abby asked, as she, Ziva, Tony, and McGee walked out of the bullpen, about to go home after a full day of boring desk work on the follow Thursday.

"Emmy and I are going to Boston," he said.

"Really?" Abby asked. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm meeting her family," Tony said.

"Ooh," Abby said excitedly. "That sounds fun."

"It should be," Tony said.

"How big is her family?" Ziva asked.

"I don't know yet," Tony said. "She hasn't said, although I think they'll be pretty nice, if she's any indication."

"Well, have a good time," McGee, not one to pry, said.

"Oh, I will," Tony said, smiling.

"So, what are you gonna do?" Abby asked.

"She says it's a surprise," Tony said. "She hasn't told me what all she has planned yet."

"Interesting," said Abby. They got to her car. Tony's was parked beside hers, then McGee's, then Ziva's.

"See you all on Monday," Tony said, getting into the passenger side of his Chevelle. Emmy was sitting in the driver's seat. She smiled and waved to Ziva, McGee, and Abby.

"Bye," they said to the couple. The three of them watched as Tony and Emmy drove away, then they left, too.

* * *

"So, are we leaving tomorrow for Boston?" Tony asked, as they walked into Tony's apartment. The living room was first, with the kitchen area on the right, and a bathroom and bedroom down the hall.

"Yes," Emmy said. "When do you want to leave?"

"Well, seeing as it's a seven-hour drive, and your family is expecting us for dinner, right?" Tony began, at which Emmy nodded. "And dinner is at six, we should probably leave as close to nine as we can, just to be safe. I can be ready by then."

"OK," Emmy said. "Who's driving?"

"If you want to, you can."

"OK."

Emmy smiled as Tony wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. She loved it when he held her; she came up to just under his chin and fit just right.

"I love you, Tony," Emmy said, closing her eyes and leaning against his strong, muscular frame.

"I love you, too, Emmy," Tony said. "So what's your family like?"

"They're nice," Emmy said. "My parents divorced when I was little, but they're both remarried now. My dad remarried two years after the divorce and my mom remarried six years after."

"Oh," Tony said, sounding slightly nervous. "So I have _two _protective fathers to deal with?"

Emmy laughed. "I guess I never thought of it that way, but yes," she said.

"What do your parents do for a living?" Tony asked her.

"My dad is a CPA," Emmy said. "My mom retired early, but until she did, she was a librarian. My stepdad and stepmom are both retired, too, but before they retired, my stepmom worked for a utilities company and my stepdad worked in public relations."

"Nice," Tony said. "So did you inherit any of these skills from either of your parents?"

Tony smiled; he was teasing her, because he knew Emmy hated math.

"But I am a master at alphabetizing and locating stuff on library shelves," Emmy said, grinning.

Tony chuckled. "I don't read much," he said. "I prefer—"

"— movies," Emmy finished for him, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I know."

Tony smiled. He had only heard a few stories and already he was excited— although nervous— to meet Emmy's family.

* * *

"Whoa."

Emmy looked over, amused, at Tony's expression, as they drove up a long cul-de-sac driveway.

"What?" she asked.

Tony turned and gave her a look. "You live _here_?" he asked, with slight unease.

"Yes. Why?" Emmy asked, as though it was nothing.

"Uh, because your house is _huge_," Tony said.

Tony was exaggerating, of course; Emmy's house was not huge, but it certainly was a nice size: a log cabin, with three floors. The front yard was large (Tony guessed the back yard was, too), with bird feeders dangling from two crab apple trees. There were also many pine trees and a stone bird bath. The house and the yards altogether spanned about an acre. They also had a three-stall garage, with a Toyota Camry (newer than Emmy's), Toyota Sequoia, and—

"What the...?" Tony said, going over to the third vehicle. "This isn't really an—"

"Original 1949 Chevrolet pickup?" Emmy said, grinning and chuckling. "Yes. My dad has had it ever since I can remember."

"Wow, I just got jealous," Tony said.

Emmy laughed. "We only use it for one thing, and that is to take tree branches and other stuff to the city dump."

Tony grinned. "It's great," he said.

"I'm glad you like it," Emmy said, smiling. She could see he was anxious. "Why are you so nervous?"

"Well," Tony said, putting his arm around her waist, "now that I'm no longer distracted by your dad's _beautiful _truck, I'm nervous because I'm going to have to get through _two_ protective dads."

Emmy grinned. "I told my dad to go easy on you," she said.

"Which one?" Tony asked her.

"Um, my biological dad," Emmy said. "My stepdad will be way easier on you than he will be, without me telling him to be. He won't give you the third-degree."

Tony sighed. "Great. Well, now I'm officially nervous," he said.

"Don't be," Emmy said, linking her arm with his. "It'll be fine."

Tony attempted a brave face and walked with her. An auburn-colored Golden Retriever, fur streaked with grey and white, stood close to the kennel fence and poked its nose through the fence, wagging its tail wildly upon seeing Emmy was home.

"Hi, Liebkeh, how are you doing?" Emmy asked, going over to the kennel and letting the dog out. "Sit." The dog sat, slowly due to age, and Emmy bent down to pet it and hugged and held it lovingly. Liebkeh wagged her tail appreciatively back and forth. Emmy looked up at Tony. "Tony, this is Liebkeh, the best dog you'll ever meet, and who I've missed so much being away." Emmy briefly buried her face lovingly in Liebkeh's fur and wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed the top of her head before standing back up. Liebkeh stood with her.

Emmy noticed Tony's confused look and explained. "My other dog and the horses are at my mom's place."

"Ah," Tony said, smiling and nodding and also leaning down to pet Liebkeh. "So your parents are rich?"

"Not rich," Emmy said, shaking her head, "well enough off, but not rich. Does all this bother you?"

"No, not at all," Tony said, looking around again. "I have rich relatives, too; I mean, at least I used to, an uncle and my dad, mostly. It's just that you never told me."

"I didn't think I had to. I don't make a big deal out of it," Emmy said. She shrugged. "I'm very careful with the money I do have, especially if there are points where I don't have a lot. I've earned it all myself, one way or another. In high school, people always thought I was rich just because my parents worked really hard to live in the places they are now, and I hated it when they said that. It's just life."

Tony nodded. "I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset," Emmy said, "just stating a fact." She smiled. "Are you ready to go meet the family?"

"Yeah," Tony said, smiling through his anticipation.

Tony and Emmy walked toward the front door and went inside without knocking, because the front door creaked very loudly, alerting anyone to their presence.

"This door has creaked this loud as long as I remember," Emmy said, rolling her eyes in slight frustration. "I keep telling Dad to fix the damn thing, but he never does."

"Why not?" Tony asked.

"In his words, 'so he can hear me sneaking out', as if he ever needed a reason to, because I never did," Emmy said. "I value my sleep far too much."

As they walked into the entryway, Emmy called, "Hello, anyone home?"

Tony looked around for a minute, taking in the interior of Emmy's house; a grand staircase led to upstairs, while on the main floor were several adjoining rooms, including what looked to Tony like a family room, office, kitchen, dining room, and one bedroom.

A tall, pretty, brunette-haired woman wearing an apron came running out of the kitchen.

"Here she is! Hel-lo, gorgeous!" she exclaimed, running forward to greet Emmy.

"Hi, Sophie," Emmy said, laughing as she was engulfed in a loving hug. "I missed you."

"Are you glad to be home? Because we are never gonna allow you to leave again," Sophie said, somewhat seriously.

Emmy chuckled. "Sophie, this is my boyfriend, Tony," Emmy said. "Tony, this is our housekeeper, Sophie."

"It's nice to meet you," Tony said, shaking Sophie's hand.

"Spaghetti's on the stove," Sophie said. "Go ahead and sit down. Your dad, Kelly, and Lucy are on their way inside."

"Thanks, Soph," Emmy said, smiling. She took Tony's hand and they went and sat down next to each other, as Emmy's father, stepmom, and twin sister came in from the backyard and into the dining room.

"Hi," Emmy said to them, hugging each of them, then stepping back to introduce Tony. "Dad, Kelly, Lucy, this is my boyfriend, Tony. Tony, this is my dad, Simon, my stepmom, Kelly, and my twin sister, Lucy."

"Nice to meet you, Tony," they all said together.

"How long have you two been dating?" Lucy asked. She looked identical to Emmy, except for being a few inches shorter.

"About six months," Tony said, glancing nervously at Emmy.

"Where are you from?" Simon asked.

"Long Island, sir," Tony said. "I've worked for N.C.I.S. in D.C. for seven years now."

"Very nice," Simon said. "Has Emmy met your parents yet?"

Tony's face suddenly fell. "I'd rather she didn't, sir," Tony said. "My father is an alcoholic and my mom died in a car crash when I was eight."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Simon said. "Are you hungry? We should eat."

"Absolutely, sir," Tony said, smiling.

"There's no need to call me 'sir', Tony," Simon said.

"All right," Tony said.

Tony sat down in a chair next to Emmy. She leaned over and whispered to him, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Not really," Tony whispered back.

Sophie brought out a large bowl of pasta and another large bowl of red sauce and set both on the table. As everyone began to serve themselves and pass around the dishes, Lucy said, "Charlie's coming home tomorrow for a visit."

"Great," Emmy said.

"Who's Charlie?" Tony asked.

"Our older brother," Emmy said. "He's 32. He works for the railroad, as what used to be called the brakeman, so he's gone a ton. Sometimes, on his off days, he goes hunting, but sometimes he comes and visits."

"Ah, sweet," Tony said.

Everyone ate to their hearts' content, then settled down in the living room to watch a movie,_ The Incredibles_. Emmy didn't realize she had fallen asleep until Tony shook her awake.

"Wake up, love," he whispered, his mouth close to her ear.

Emmy jumped, startled, opened her eyes, and looked up at him. "What time is it?" she asked, her voice hoarse from sleeping.

"11:30," Tony said. "You're tired. You should go to sleep. It's been a long day."

"OK," Emmy said. "Are you coming?"

"Emmy, I'd like to have a little conversation with Tony first, before he goes," Simon interrupted.

"Dad, really?" Emmy asked, embarrassed. "Why?"

"Don't worry, love, it's just a little heart-to-heart," Tony reassured her, although he was nervous himself, but he wouldn't tell her that. "Go on upstairs. I'll be up in a minute."

"OK," Emmy said. She pulled him into a kiss, then hugged her father, stepmom, and sister good night. "Night, Dad. Night, Kelly. Night, Lucy."

"Night, kid," Simon and Kelly said together.

"Night," Lucy said.

Emmy left the room and stopped just beyond the door and stayed behind to eavesdrop.

"So you care very much about my daughter, do you?" Simon asked Tony.

"Yes, I do, sir," Tony said.

"Good," Simon said. "But you need to know something first."

Tony froze and stared at Simon nervously. Then, to cover up his nerves, he flashed an endearing smile and shifted his weight slightly. In the hallway, Emmy leaned closer to the door, so she could hear more easily.

"Emmy has never been with any man before, as seriously as she is with you," Simon said. "I can see she is very happy being with you. Are you ever planning on breaking her heart?"

Tony had to bit his tongue for a moment, to prevent himself from getting defensive. "No, sir, of course not," he said.

"Because I will warn you, Emmy has been through a lot and may be a little sensitive to some things, even though she is strong. It was a long time ago, but still, traumatic events take time to get over and move on from. She may seem strong, but I think perhaps what happened has affected her more than she realizes," Simon said.

"What happened, sir?" Tony asked.

"I'm not a liberty to say," Simon said. "That's up to Emmy to tell you. Just give her time and be patient with her and kind to her. Then you'll be fine and you won't hear from me about this again."

"Certainly, sir," Tony said.

Emmy walked away, quickly, from the door; frustrated and upset with her father for hinting about her incident to Tony, she didn't want to hear any more. She went upstairs to her bedroom and got into her pajamas; she took her hair out of her half-ponytail, brushed it out, and brushed her teeth.

Tony came into her bedroom after she had finished.

"What was that all about?" Emmy asked him, acting as if she hadn't heard.

"Oh, just the typical protective dad speech," Tony said. "He just wanted me to know he's serious about how much he cares about you."

Emmy nodded. "What did he say?" she asked, though of course, she already knew.

"He said you've never been with anyone before, as seriously as you are now with me," Tony explained, "and he just wanted me to know what would happen if I ever broke your heart... which I am never planning on doing."

"What would happen?" Emmy asked suspiciously.

"Hasn't this happened before?" Tony asked.

"No," Emmy said, shaking her head. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Never you mind," Tony said. She gave him a worried look. "Don't worry, love, really. It's OK. I know where he's coming from. Whatever it is, you have all the time in the world to tell me, when you feel comfortable doing so. You just go to sleep for now."

"Are you coming?" Emmy asked.

"Um, no," Tony said awkwardly. "He... also said we aren't allowed to sleep on the same floor while here."

Emmy's mouth dropped open with surprise; then, after a moment, she closed it, frustrated.

"He would do that," she said, irritated. "Even though I am 28 years old and live full-time on my own and can make my own decisions about... such things." She cocked an eyebrow at him.

Tony chuckled. "I understand your frustration," he said. "Maybe I'll come up later, after they're asleep."

Emmy shook her head. "He'll hear," she said. "He's a light sleeper. He'll hear you and you'll get in trouble. I don't want that."

"Neither do I," Tony said, lowering his voice. He added seductively, "But I do want you."

Emmy nodded and leaned against him. "I know," she said. "We'll go to my mom's tomorrow. She and my stepdad won't care."

"OK," Tony said, smiling mischievously. He couldn't wait.

* * *

The next day, Emmy overslept. At eleven, Sophie opened her blinds to allow in sunshine to awaken her.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," Sophie said. "You're going to miss some _delicious_ chocolate chip muffins, if you don't hurry up and get downstairs, because _someone_ has threatened to eat them all, waiting for you."

"He's up already?" Emmy asked, surprised. "I had him down as a sleep-in-until-Noon-when-I-can type."

"It is almost Noon, silly. Guess you guys didn't stay up too late last night, huh?" Sophie asked, winking suggestively.

"Dad wouldn't let us," Emmy said, frowning.

Sophie smiled sympathetically. "Maybe your mom will let you," she said.

"I hope so," Emmy said, frustrated.

Emmy bolted out of bed and proceeded to drag a brush through her bed head, put her hair up into a half-ponytail, and put on a sexy-yet-casual outfit: a solid brown light long-sleeve shirt, flair-bottom blue jeans, and tennis shoes. Her riding boots always lived in the trunk of her car. She planned on taking Tony over to her mom's place and to introduce him to her mom and stepdad and the Springer Spaniel and two horses. She also wanted to go to the aquarium with him, although perhaps they both had been there before already, just not together.

Emmy met Tony in the entryway. "Good morning," she said, smiling at him.

"Hey," he said, taking her hand and pulling her in for a kiss. "You look lovely. Did you sleep OK?"

"Yes, it's always nice to come home," Emmy said.

She went into the kitchen and put six chocolate chip muffins into a Ziploc bag, three for her and three for him.

"Where's your dad and stepmom?" Tony asked, looking around and seeing only Sophie.

"Dad's working, as he spent some of yesterday at home and it's nearly the end of tax season and Kelly's probably out for coffee with her girlfriends," Emmy said. "As for Lucy, I can't say, but she might be out with Madeline, her best friend. They hang out a lot. Charlie should be here this afternoon, so you can meet him then."

"OK," Tony said. "So what are your plans? "Can I be briefed on our missions for today?" He took a bite of his first muffin, as they walked out the door. "Mm, these are great. My compliments to the chef... housekeeper... cook... maid." He stopped, unable to decide which word to use to describe Sophie, and grinned at Emmy after swallowing his bite of muffin.

"The muffins are courtesy of Sophie, who prefers the term 'housekeeper', because she does everything," Emmy said. "Well, I was hoping we could get some breakfast, then go to the aquarium, if you haven't already seen it a hundred times, and then, when Charlie gets here, you can meet him and we'll probably head over to my mom's and meet my other posse."

"Sounds great," Tony said. "And I haven't been to the aquarium a hundred times, so we could go."

"OK, great," Emmy said, smiling at him.

Tony smiled back at her. "Where would you like to go for breakfast?" he asked her.

"I'd like to go to Zaftigs," Emmy said. "It's good food for a reasonable price."

"I love Zaftigs," Tony said. "They have great customized omelets."

"Mhm," Emmy agreed, nodding.

They had an enjoyable breakfast together, both ordering custom-made omelets, then went back to Emmy's dad's house and packed up their things. Charlie arrived and they spent most of the day with him and Lucy at the aquarium.

Later that evening, they packed up their bags and said goodbye to Lucy.

"We'll see you later or tomorrow, I'm sure," Emmy said to her sister.

Lucy nodded and went back inside. Tony stepped forward and shook Charlie's hand.

"You take care of my little sister, now," Charlie said to Tony.

"Charlie, stop," Emmy said, hitting him on the arm. "It'll be fine. Besides, how much better protected could I be, than by a federal agent?"

Charlie grinned and nodded. "Have a good time at Mom's. I'll be there soon."

"OK," Emmy said. Then she left with Tony.

* * *

"Your mom's house is beautiful," Tony said, as Emmy parked her car on the street; Lily and James only had a one-car garage and James' Jeep was parked in the driveway.

"Thanks," Emmy said. "Wait until you see the inside. It's great. I love it. And the best part is," she lowered her voice, "my bedroom and bathroom suite is in the basement, in the new addition, so... let's just say, while it's not sound-proof, they still can't hear anything coming from it."

Tony grinned excitedly. "I can't wait," he said, laughing.

"Lizzie will bark at you at first, just so you know," Emmy warned him, casually.

"OK," Tony said. He wasn't worried. He loved dogs.

They walked up the terra-cotta-and-green front steps. Emmy knocked on the door before they entered, and as she had said, Lizzie ran to the door, barking.

"Lizzie!" Emmy exclaimed, grinning and laughing as the Springer Spaniel ran up to her, jumped up and put her paws on Emmy's stomach, in a kind of "dog hug". "How are you doing? I've missed you."

Emmy hugged Lizzie, then she jumped back down as Emmy's mother and stepfather came down from the living room to greet them.

"Hi, Mom," Emmy said warmly, hugging her mother.

"Hi," Lily said, hugging her daughter tightly. "I've missed you."

"Missed you," Emmy said, smiling. She turned and hugged her stepfather. "Hey."

"Hey, kiddo," Jim said, also hugging her. "We're glad you're here. We like it when a little blue car comes up our driveway."

"Me, too," Emmy said, smiling. She loved visiting her mom and stepdad; they always greeted her as though she'd been gone for three years. She turned to introduce Tony. "Mom, Jim, this is Tony."

"It's nice to meet you," Lily and Jim said together, shaking Tony's hand.

"How long are you two staying?" Lily asked.

"Until late Sunday morning, probably," Emmy said. "We both need to get back to D.C. for work on Monday and it's a seven-hour drive."

"OK, well, we're glad you're here until then," Lily said. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Yes, Sophie made us chocolate chip muffins for the road," Emmy said.

"But we could eat an early lunch," Tony said suggestively, laughing.

"Tony!" Emmy laughed and rolled her eyes. "We could," she agreed, "if you guys don't mind. We can even cook, if you want, to give Harrison a break. Tony's a fantastic cook. You don't have to eat, if you had a late breakfast."

"Sounds great," said Jim, and they all went into the kitchen.

"Who's Harrison?" Tony asked.

Emmy turned around and went to the fridge to get out eggs, as a butler came into the kitchen.

"Hello, Harrison," she said, smiling and going over to hug him.

"Hello, my dear," Harrison said fondly, smiling at her. "We've missed you here."

Emmy smiled. "Tony," she said, looking at Tony, "this is Harrison Jones."

"Wait, what?" Tony asked, standing up to shake the butler's hand. "Like Harrison Ford?"

"Yes," Harrison said, smiling.

"Like _two _of the best film stars of all time, even," Tony said, ecstatic, "Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones."

"He's a film buff," Emmy explained, rolling her eyes and grinning.

Harrison smiled and helped them to start making lunch.

* * *

_I hope you guys enjoyed meeting Emmy's family so far. You may have guessed that her family members are based off my own, because family is extremely important to me and they have helped shape me into the person I have become today. And yes, her mom and stepdad's full names are Lily and James... not due to Harry Potter, though, mind you, LOL; those are my actual mom and stepdad's names (Lillian, though). And yes, like Tony says, Harrison's name is a combination of Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, two of my favorite actors. :)_

_And you also have been slightly foreshadowed, as to Emmy's secret. It will be fully revealed in chapter 6. See if you can figure it out before then and why Emmy's dad brought it up when he did. :)_

_In case anyone is wondering, Liebkeh is pronounced "LEEB-kuh". As Emmy said, it's Russian for "loved one". So my friend Charlie (whom Emmy's older brother is based off) says, anyway, because that's one of his cat's names. And she's such a sweetie. If I could figure out how to make the hyperlink cooperate in this author note, I would paste a link to an ADORABLE picture of them both. If any of you guys know the trick behind that, let me know._

_There will be more Emmy and Tony in the next chapter, much, much more, so be prepared!_

_As of 7 p.m. on April 23, there have been 1,462 hits and only 16 reviews. That's pretty sad, people. I know the story is moving slowly, but it's mostly a romantic story. I promise hurt/comfort will come later, around chapter 7 (which centers on a case), then there will be Tony/Emmy hurt/comfort from there on out. So please, stick with me and don't be afraid to tell me what you thought, because I know you're reading! Thanks._


	5. The Raging Storm

_I apologize for updating a day or so later than I said I would. But the weekend has been mildly busy, and a bit ago, I caught something I'd started to write, gotten stuck on, and stopped, and it needed to be continued and finished before posting. Anyway, thanks to Tiffany331's help, it's there now and now I'm posting, so it's all good!_

_Just so you guys know, I added a little extra to the Simon-Tony conversation in chapter 4, concerning Emmy's secret. So if you want to go back and re-read that, as it was added after most of you reviewed, feel free, but it's up to you. Tiffany331, my beta, suggested I add a little more to it, because I was mistakenly drawing conclusions about what you readers could guess and/or know, because I know, because, well, I'm the author! (Sorry if that makes no sense; it made better sense in my head.) So I went back and clarified some things a little, since the story is moving slowly (it's supposed to) though not much, and you won't be fully in on the secret until chapter 6, then chapters 8 and 9. I think it's better, now that I did, but it will probably still be improved in the future. I know it's going slowly, but just stick with me and you will be happier soon. :)_

_I am pretty conservative when it comes to things like smoking, alcohol, and sex, so I will never write a full-blown lemon. But this chapter might be pretty close, depending on your opinion. I would consider it rated M, but I'm not sure which of you guys feel the same way._

_To my new reviewer, DarkMarionette182, who reviewed yesterday: thanks for your feedback! New feedback and new reviews, old or new review, are always exciting and very much appreciated._

_Just in case disclaimers actually do anything, I don't own Titanic, or any references and such to it. I just play with it._

_Here is chapter 5. Enjoy._

**Chapter 5 — The Raging Storm**

* * *

The rest of the afternoon with Emmy's mother and stepfather went well. Lucy had come over and spent some time with them, playing card games: her favorite, Garbage; Lily's favorite, Rummy; Emmy's favorite, Apples to Apples; and Imaginiff..., a family favorite.

A few hours later, Emmy and Tony could be found horseback riding on a long trail, leading away from the house. The trail ranged from an hour long to three hours long, depending where you went. Though it had been a gorgeous, partly cloudy day, the sky was now quickly getting darker.

Emmy looked up at the ominous dark rainclouds gathering.

"We should get back," she said. "In a few minutes, we're not going to be able to see anything."

"OK," Tony said. He flashed Emmy a grin. "Race you back!"

Tony suddenly spurred Banner forward, and the Appaloosa took off. Bella, being held back by Emmy, fidgeted nervously; Emmy knew, even with a head start and Bella being older, that Banner would not win the race. Bella particularly loved to race her partner-in-crime and never let any other horse beat her.

The moment Emmy's heels connected firmly with her sides, Bella sprang into a gallop.

"Hey," Tony yelled to Emmy, over the wind whistling in his ears, "why is he called Banner?"

"Look at his tail."

Tony turned his head and looked at Banner's tail; Banner's tail was arced in the air, flying in the wind, just like a banner. Tony laughed and spurred him on.

They raced down the trail, slowing only when they were within sight of the stable. Emmy pulled Bella up to a trot; Banner slowed as well. Both individuals were breathing just about as hard as the horses.

"Good race," Emmy said breathlessly.

"You too," Tony said. "What's with Bella being so competitive?"

"Oh, I didn't tell you?" Emmy teased him. "Bella never lets anyone beat her."

"Oh, sure," Tony teased her, rolling his eyes, "so you give me the slow horse."

"Not slow," Emmy said, leaning over in the saddle to pat Banner's sweaty neck. "He has the advantage of youth."

"Aha," Tony said, grinning.

They slowed to a walk and continued on to the stable. At the large double doors, both horses shook the sweat from their bodies, shaking both their tack and riders alike. Tony and Emmy dismounted and led them inside.

"We'll need to walk them to cool them down, then give them a good brushing," Emmy said. "Then we'll feed them and head inside."

"OK," Tony said.

They walked the two horses from one end of the stable to the other several times, then gave them a good brushing. By the end of Bella's grooming session, her eyes were closed and her head was bent with pleasure. Emmy placed a lead rope around her neck and led her into her stall; Tony did the same with Banner, who was also half-asleep. Tony helped Emmy put hay in their troughs, as thunder cracked overhead, then they began to walk toward the house.

Emmy looked up at the clouds, rain splattering on her face. The downpour quickly got them soaked. They ran up the front steps, onto the porch, and watched the rain pour down. They could barely see the house.

"See, I told you we wouldn't be able to see anything," Emmy said loudly, over the sound of the pouring rain hitting the eaves.

Tony smiled. Though he was a naturally-born city boy, he loved this adventurous side to Emmy just as much as her city-girl side. City-girl or not, she always surprised him, with each new side of her he got to know.

Emmy pushed his dripping hair back, out of his eyes. He smiled appreciatively.

"You look so good, soaking wet," she said, grinning.

Tony laughed and playfully shook water from his hair, spraying her. Emmy laughed.

They went inside and found a note in the kitchen. Lily and Jim had gone to a movie in town and wouldn't be back for a few hours. Emmy and Tony smiled suggestively at each other.

Tony leaned forward and draped his arms lovingly around Emmy, resting his chin on her shoulder. She closed her eyes and leaned back against him for a long moment, listening to the soft sounds of his breathing and his heart beating.

Meanwhile, she was having a private battle with her conscience.

_Why are you leading him on so? You aren't ready for this, _her conscience told her. _It was a long time ago, but it's still there. You know you are probably far too damaged to go through with this._

_But I want to be with him. I don't care anymore about what happened. It's over and done with and Chris is gone. Nothing will change that._

_Being with Tony won't solve it. It won't make it go away. You haven't gotten help. It may be over, but you know you're not over it. Not by a long shot._

_I love Tony. Besides, how much better protected could I be, than with a federal agent?_

_Sure, he can protect you from bad guys with guns. But who will protect you from him? You know that's what you're worried about, even if you deny it. Even if you don't want to be._

_He promised he would never hurt me._

_But he could. He can if you let him have this power over you, if you let your feelings get that involved. It's safer if you don't._

_But sometimes you have to take risks. I love him and I want this, too._

_Well, if you trust him... Don't say I didn't warn you._

Emmy pushed this pessimistic voice to the back of her mind and smiled seductively at Tony, as she turned around in his embrace and he leaned down and kissed her. His tongue traced the edges of her mouth, asking for entrance. Emmy opened her mouth and allowed his lips to mesh with hers and his tongue to assault hers. His kisses quickly intensified and deepened, then he lifted her into his embrace. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he carried her into the house. At the top of the stairs, he set her down, and they both made their way slowly down to her bedroom, kissing deeply every few steps.

Emmy sat on the edge of the bed and lifted her legs and allowed Tony to take off her boots and socks. He quickly kicked off his own boots, then lay down on the bed, on top of her. He slowly unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down her legs, taking care to caress her legs most of the way down, then he returned to kissing her. She did the same to him a moment later.

"You don't know how long I've waited to do this," Tony said, against her mouth. "How long I've wanted to do this; to be with you, inside you."

Emmy smiled, breaking their kiss.

"I want to see you," she said to him, "every inch of you."

"Soon," he murmured, going back to kiss her again.

In a fluid motion, he pulled her shirt over her head and discarded it, adding to the pile of clothing on the floor. She caressed his abs, firm underneath smooth skin, tracing each line with her finger.

Abruptly, Tony chuckled and she inhaled his sweet breath.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Tony said, regaining his composure. "Don't stop."

Emmy grinned. She mirrored his recent action, then they were both down to only their underclothes. Tony kissed her everywhere, changing every split second and taking her breath away every time. His hands moved to the clasp of her bra, which he unhooked and it went to the floor. He shimmied her panties, then she, his boxers, down to the floor, where they landed in a crumpled heap. In a flash, Tony kicked them, sending them sliding a few feet, out of the way.

Em took in his chiseled body, from his strong jaw to his firm abs to his muscular legs, committing it to memory, as if she was never going to see it again.

"You are so gorgeous," Emmy murmured, her mouth against his ear.

Tony's kisses trailed from her ear lobes to her neck, across her collarbone, and across her breasts, as his hands massaged them. Then he moved down and kissed her naval and the area right around it. His fingers trailed down her slim sides to her inner thighs, and worked their way to her warm, wet sex. His fingers slowly and gently slid between her wet folds, one, two, then building to three, until finally, he had four fingers inside her, stretching her walls. Emmy gasped at the new sensations coursing through her body, then gasped again as his fingers exited her body.

"Did I hurt you?" Tony asked, immediately concerned.

"No," Emmy said. She shook her head. "I'm just getting used to it, that's all. It's new."

"OK," Tony said. There was a moment's pause, then, his voice, if possible, a few octaves deeper than usual, Tony said, "Em."

"Hmm?" Emmy asked.

"I want to be inside you so badly, it hurts," Tony said huskily.

"Soon," she said, as he had before.

Tony leaned down and kissed Emmy's neck. Then Emmy pushed him away slightly.

"What?" Tony asked breathlessly, confused.

"Tony, make love to me."

Tony was slightly frustrated at this. "I'm trying."

"But you're gonna have to help me."

Tony was confused. "Why?"

"Because I don't know what I'm doing."

"OK." Tony nodded. He hesitated at her entrance. "Tell me if anything I do hurts you," he said, his voice shaking.

Emmy nodded, then lifted her hips toward him, granting him permission. He entered slowly at first, then froze and began to pull back at her first twinge and gasp of pain.

"No, wait..." Emmy said, pulling him back. "Stay. Just give me a second."

She lay still for a moment, adjusting to the feeling of him inside her, filling her. Then Tony slowly moved further into her. Her breath caught in her throat, but the flash of pain vanished as quickly as it had come and she exhaled. She pulled her legs apart, allowing him to push even deeper.

Then they began to make love, rocking rhythmically together. Waves of pleasure rolled over her as Tony thrust gently at first, then gradually, he increased his speed and pressure.

Emmy attacked Tony's lips with hers, her nails clawing into his strong, muscular back, as she met him thrust for thrust. Her body shook as she orgasmed. Tony cradled her hips and backside in his hands, allowing her to enjoy it. She could feel him orgasming above her, sending her into a second orgasm. They climaxed again together, finishing in an explosion of pleasure waves, just as lightning cracked and thunder rolled loudly. Tony could see the lightning reflect in Emmy's bright, intense eyes.

Emmy gently took Tony's head in her hands. He looked down at her. "You're trembling," she whispered.

"Don't worry," Tony said, breathing hard. "I'll be alright." He rested his head on her bare chest, beneath her chin.

She closed her eyes. "I love you, Tony," she said.

"I love you, too," Tony said, between breaths.

They lay there in silence for several moments, their hearts and breathing steadying. Then Tony slowly rolled off her and lay next to her in the bed, facing her. Tony leaned over and gently pressed his lips to Emmy's forehead.

"Sleep well, babe," he said softly to her.

Sleep quickly overtook them, to the sound of the rain pouring outside.

* * *

The next day, Tony woke up first. It was 11. It took him a moment to realize what had awakened him; Harrison must have come in and opened the window, allowing sunlight and a cool breeze into the room. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked down lovingly at Emmy. Her hair fanned out around her head, like a halo.

Tony slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb her. He went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth, then went upstairs to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee. He sat down at the kitchen table and sighed, thinking about the night. Tony looked up and noticed there was a light on in the living room. He went up to the living room and found both Lily and Jim sitting in chairs, reading a book and the newspaper.

"Morning," he said to them.

"Morning," they replied. Lily smiled at him.

"Good coffee," Tony said, lifting his mug to her in an acknowledging gesture, then taking a sip.

"Thank you. Where's Emmy?" Lily asked.

"She's still sleeping."

"Where did you sleep?" Lily asked. "I didn't see anyone in Lucy's room last night."

Tony froze for a moment, then met her gaze, but didn't say anything. He knew Lily interpreted his silence correctly when she smiled.

"Glad you two had a good night," she said.

Tony cleared his throat awkwardly, then said, "Thank you." He sat down on the couch. "How was the movie?"

"Good," Lily said. "How long are you and Emmy staying?"

"We'll probably head back as soon as she gets up and we're finished packing," Tony said.

"OK," Lily said. "It was good to meet you. We hope you've had a good time while you were here."

"Thank you. I have, definitely," Tony said.

Emmy came into the living room. "Hi," Lily said, going over to hug her. "How are you?"

"Good," Emmy said, hugging her back.

"How did you sleep?" Lily asked.

Emmy glanced at Tony nervously.

"She knows," was all he said, sipping his coffee.

"I slept fine," Emmy said to her mom and stepdad. "Thanks."

"Fried potatoes and sausage are on the stove," Jim said.

"Thanks, Jim," Emmy said, smiling.

She and Tony went back into the kitchen and helped themselves to breakfast.

"Mm," Tony said appreciatively, after his first bite. "This is great."

"Thanks," Emmy said. "My stepdad is a great cook. This is an infamous breakfast. I only wish we could have had pigs-in-a-blanket, too."

Tony nodded. "That sounds great," he said. "We'll make that another time at home."

"OK," Emmy said, smiling. "It's my favorite breakfast."

"I'll keep that in mind," Tony said, smiling.

They finished eating breakfast, then went downstairs to Emmy's room to pack. Tony noticed Emmy moving gingerly.

"What's wrong, babe?" he asked her.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Emmy said, continuing packing. She felt Tony move next to her and he touched her arm and she paused. She looked up at him. "I'm a little sore," she said, quietly.

"That's nothing to be ashamed of," Tony said. "You were a _virgin_ last night, babe. Do you know how special that was to me? You don't have to hide how you're feeling from me."

Emmy nodded.

"Go run a hot bath and relax," Tony said. "I'll finish packing."

"Are you sure?" Emmy asked. "You could join me."

"No," Tony said. Emmy's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You need a while to yourself," he said gently. "Before I finish packing, take out a fresh outfit. We'll leave after you soak for a while and get dressed."

"OK," Emmy said, leaving the room, going into the bathroom to grab two towels, then going upstairs.

* * *

Emmy took care in climbing slowly into the tub. She sank into the hot bath, sighing with relief, until only her head was above water. She closed her eyes for what seemed like forever, breathing in the steam and allowing her body to absorb the water. The flesh between her legs was particularly sore. She closed her eyes and took time to remember the night before. Memories flashed behind her eyelids.

Eventually, the water began to get cold, so Emmy climbed out, feeling better, and wrapped a towel around her hair, then slowly dried herself off. She put on her bathrobe, then went downstairs. She put the towels back on the rack in the bathroom, then went into her bedroom. Tony was sitting on the bed, waiting for her, closed suitcase next to him.

He looked over at her when she entered the room. "How was your bath?" he asked.

"Wonderful," Emmy said. "Thank you for suggesting it."

"You're welcome. I figured it would help. I said I wasn't going to join you, because I didn't want you to feel pressure to be with me more than you want to," Tony said.

"Tony, I always want to be with you," Emmy said meaningfully.

"Yes, I realize this. The feeling is mutual, babe, I assure you. But you see my point? We both do need a little space here and there. We have the rest of our lives to not keep our hands off each other."

Emmy smiled and nodded, understanding.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

Emmy stuck her tongue out at him. "I will be in a minute," she said.

Tony chuckled. He watched her brush her hair out, then put it up into a full ponytail. She noticed him watching curiously and explained.

"Half-ponytails do not work when my hair is wet, not for the lack of trying. It doesn't cooperate, it's too thick and goes flat."

"Ah," Tony said. He smiled. "I like you, no matter how your hair looks."

Emmy smiled. "Thank you," she said.

They finished packing, said thank you and goodbye to Emmy's mom and stepdad, then started the long drive back to D.C.

_

* * *

_

_Even though this is not a category she is familiar with, thus she will never read this story, I have to dedicate this chapter to my RENT and Strong Medicine beta, katetastic, without whom I would not have written anything even close to a lemon._

_In case any of you are wondering, Lucy spends the majority of her time at Simon and Kelly's, which is why she didn't have as much of a role in this chapter. She is based off my own twin sister._

_Please review! Thanks. :)_


	6. Broken Wing

_Hey, guys. Hope you've had a good week. Mine's been alright. I am officially done with 4 of my 8 classes, with last week of classes ending today, and my last 4 finals on Monday and Tuesday. Then I have a somewhat busy finals week, then I start work on the 17th right away, so I'm not sure exactly how often I will be able to update. It depends how busy I get with work. As I've been told so far, I'll only be working Monday through Thursday, though, my usual Friday update should come like normal._

_Thank you to new reviewer, Ann, who reviewed anonymously, so unfortunately, I can't answer back, or I would._

_This chapter is brought to you by two Excedrin Migraine pills and about 13 hours of sleep last night. Not sure what I had, whether it was a virus or what, but I had a major migraine for almost three days straight (with this one, I was basically functional; with the last one I had, my senior year of high school, I was out of school for 3 days, laid out on the couch), and I felt weak and fatigued for the past couple days in general. But I'm all better now, just still need sleep, of course, haha._

_Anyway, here ya go, here is chapter 6, also partly brought to you by my lovely beta, Tiffany331. Thanks for the help, Tiff! Enjoy._

**Chapter 6— Broken Wing**

* * *

"Tony!"

Tony looked up, then a second later, let out a grunt, as Abby rammed into him and smothered him in a hug.

"Hey, Abbs," he said, patting her awkwardly on the back. "What's with the welcoming committee? I was only gone for the weekend and I didn't go far."

"You went out of state," Abby said. "That qualifies as far away."

She released him, allowing him to straighten up.

"Abby, sometimes when we have cases, we go out of state," Tony said.

"Yeah, well, I worry then, too," Abby said pointedly. "How was your weekend?" she added eagerly.

"It was great," Tony said, smiling.

"Any details you care to share?" Abby asked him.

"No," Tony said. "I'd rather not."

"Why not?" Abby asked, disappointed. "You always share stuff like this."

"Well, this time, I'd rather not. Abbs, please," Tony said, trying to get her to back off.

"Well, all right," Abby said, and she backed off the subject. "So what did you guys do in Boston?"

"Oh, you know," Tony said evasively, "just normal Boston stuff. We went to the aquarium. We rode horse. We ended up watching a movie during a thunderstorm..."

Of course, the last statement was a downright lie. But Tony did not want to share those details with everyone. While things were not complicated anymore, things certainly were different to him with Emmy, after what had happened with his relationship with Jeanne. Emmy was very special to him and they had a bond of trust he had never had before. It was a private, almost sacred thing, especially after the eventful night at Lily and Jim's, and he felt like, while he _was _entirely comfortable with their relationship and he _could _brag about her and their wonderful relationship to the ends of the earth, doing so would breach that trust and he did not want to share her with the world in that way. He knew she felt the same way about him.

"Well, what all did you guys do this weekend, while I was away?" Tony asked, changing the subject.

He was spared hearing answers when his phone rang. "N.C.I.S., Very Special Agent DiNozzo speaking," he answered. He paused for a second, then grinned. "Hey. How's your day going?... Just dinner?" He laughed. "Ah, that sounds great. Yes, I'd love to... Six? OK, sounds good. See you then."

Tony hung up the phone, smiling, then realized Ziva, Abby, and McGee were staring at him. "What?" he asked. "Emmy's picking me up for dinner tonight. I'm cooking for us at my place. Not a big deal."

"Sounds like fun," Abby said coyly, grinning before she went back to her lab.

Tony smiled at Abby, then went back to his paperwork.

_

* * *

_

_Ding._

Around five o'clock, Tony smiled as the elevator doors opened and Emmy walked over to his desk.

"Hey, you," she said fondly, smiling at him.

"Hey, you," Tony echoed, grinning. "Ready to go?"

"Always," Emmy said, grinning. "What are you making?"

"It's a surprise." Tony smiled.

"Is it Italian?" Emmy asked.

"Of course," Tony said.

"I can't wait," Emmy said. She beckoned to him. "Come on, come on!"

Tony turned and looked at McGee and Ziva, before he grabbed his backpack and Emmy dragged him away, laughing.

After the elevator doors closed, Ziva looked at McGee, puzzled, but said nothing. McGee simply shook his head silently; while he agreed with Ziva, he also was happy his best friend was happy after Jeanne. Of all people, he knew Tony deserved it the most.

* * *

Emmy could smell savory red sauce aroma floating into the bathroom, where she had just finished taking a shower, after a full day of work. She and Tony had gone back to his place, after she picked him up from work. He was now cooking spaghetti— one of her favorite foods— with red sauce made from fresh, organically-grown tomatoes, basil, and garlic.

She put on her bathrobe and went into the kitchen, which, like her own apartment, adjoined to the living room.

She sniffed appreciatively. "It smells delicious," she said.

"And you look delicious," Tony said, "so you'd better get back in the bathroom and get dressed, or I won't be able to finish cooking." He grinned at her.

Emmy grinned and sexily swung the sash of her bathrobe around in a circle.

"Go on, babe," Tony said, smiling.

Emmy smiled, then went back into the bathroom. When she came out a few minutes later, Tony had set the kitchen table for two and lit two candles in the center of the table. Frank Sinatra's "Just the Way You Look Tonight" played in the background.

"Sit down, _mio amore_," Tony said quietly.

Emmy smiled and sat down in one of the two chairs. Tony brought over a plate of spaghetti for her, then dished up some for himself and sat down.

"Mm," he said, after his first bite, "mine's delicious. How's yours?"

"Excellent," Emmy said. "_Ringraziarla, mio amore_." She smiled. "Can I try a bite of yours?"

"Sure," Tony said.

He slid his plate toward hers and she stabbed some spaghetti with her fork and twirled it on her spoon, then ate it.

"Mm," she said, "definitely amazing."

"_Gratzi_," Tony said, smiling at her.

Emmy stabbed some noodles again from Tony's plate, just as he did. She twisted the bite on her spoon, then they brought the bites to their mouths simultaneously. There was one particularly long, stubborn noodle that would not twirl, but she brought it to her mouth anyway. Neither realized it was the same noodle, until their lips met briefly. Emmy blushed and shied away, a small smile on her face.

Tony smiled and continued eating.

They finished dinner and put the extra food in the refrigerator and began to wash the dishes. Emmy liked to dry, so Tony washed. After a few dishes were washed, he playfully flicked water at her. She squealed and laughed and whipped her dish rag at his sexy backside. She threw her dish rag at him and, now that she was defenseless, he flicked more water at her. She laughed and ran away from him playfully. Tony ran after her and picked her up mid-run, and carried her into his bedroom.

They lay down together and kissed tenderly. Then his kisses increased in intensity, trailing from her lips to her neck, up to her earlobe, which he nibbled on and sucked very lightly. Then he kissed her all the way down to her elbow and moved across to her flat stomach. In between kisses, he began to methodically undo each individual button on her blouse, then pulled it over her head, threw it aside, and began to caress her breasts. His hands moved down her flat stomach to her slender thighs and caressed them, too. His fingers moved toward her hot sex and moved slowly within her wet folds. He quickly became hard and was centimeters away from entering her and beginning to make love to her.

Suddenly, unexpectedly, Emmy froze and began to panic. Tony immediately rolled off her.

"Emmy," he said. "Em. Breathe, babe, it's OK."

Emmy sat up quickly, clutching her chest, and choked down a few breaths. "I'm s-so sorry. I don't know w-why that happened," she stammered.

"Don't apologize," Tony said. "Maybe we were moving too quickly."

Emmy scoffed, remembering the intense night at her mother's house, then shook her head. "It s-shouldn't have happened. I can't explain it," she said breathlessly. Emmy took a few deep breaths, closed her eyes, and willed her heart to slow down. Once it did, she looked up at Tony, her expression frightened.

"What happened, babe?" Tony asked.

"I don't know," Emmy said. "We were... well... and I just... panicked. But we had before. I don't understand."

"Maybe I should take you to a walk-in clinic and have them check you out," Tony suggested, concerned.

"What? No. I'm not sick. I'll... I'll be fine," Emmy protested. She looked up at him again. "Are you angry?"

"No," Tony said, "I'm worried. I've never been stopped like that before, not by anyone; I'm not blaming you, you were scared."

Emmy nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it? Did I do something wrong?" Tony asked, concerned. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, you didn't do anything wrong," Emmy said. "I... I don't know if I'm ready to tell you."

"Tell me what?" Tony asked. He made to sit down next to Emmy and put his arm around her, but she recoiled and he remained where he stood. "If you're scared, I won't touch you. If you aren't ready, don't tell me."

Emmy swallowed hard. There was a long pause, then she indicated with a nod of her head for him to sit down.

"About... about when..." she began. Emmy looked up at him, then dropped a bombshell. "Tony, I was raped."

Tony was stunned. He didn't know what to say.

When he finally found his voice, he said quietly, disbelievingly, "What?"

"I was raped," Emmy said again. Tears began to form in her eyes and cascade down her cheeks.

"When?" Tony asked.

"It happened when I was seventeen. Chris was nineteen. We had met the year before my sophomore year, in school, and he asked me out and we got in a relationship. Right away after he graduated, he went off to Basic training that June. He was deployed to Iraq right away and came back about a year later, on a two-week leave, to see me graduate and such. We spent every day of those two weeks together. We had a good relationship going, so my parents trusted him, even though they were still wary of him, due to our age difference. But the Marines had changed him. He had become an unstable, violent, angry person, when upset. It happened the night before he was going to go back. We had a fight about him going back and his parents making our relationship hard when he was home, and he just lost it. I tried to do something, but couldn't."

Tony didn't know what to make of this statement. His mind was spinning.

"Did he get tried and convicted?" Tony asked.

"No," Emmy said. "He shot himself that same night. He left a note, saying he was sorry for what he did, that he wasn't himself and he didn't mean to, and that he was sorry he couldn't make me happy. He didn't understand that it was the complete opposite, that I was happiest when he was home, and when he wasn't home, it was like a part of me was missing. His parents were the ones who thought he couldn't handle the relationship with me, and they made things hard, not him. They blamed his suicide on me and never forgave me for it happening."

"Emmy, that was so wrong of them to say to you," Tony said. "None of it was your fault. Why didn't you tell me before, before we made love at your mom's?" he asked gently.

"I couldn't," Emmy whispered. "I knew I wanted to be with you, so it didn't bother me then. It just... brought back memories, and as much as I try to hide them, I can't anymore."

Tony took her into his arms and held her tightly, as she cried bitterly.

"I'm sorry, Tony," she cried. "I'm so sorry..."

"Shhh, Em, it's OK," Tony soothed, stroking her hair and holding her tightly.

After a few moments, still upset, she broke away from his grasp, stood, quickly redressed, and began to leave.

"Hey, where are you going?" Tony said, looking up at her. "Em, wait. Em, please don't leave."

"I just need to be alone for a while," Emmy said, not looking at him.

She grabbed her coat, walked to the front door, and left, slamming the door behind her.

_

* * *

_

_I know, I know, I'm evil._

_According to the Google translator I used:_

_Mio amore: 'my love' (no word for 'babe' in Italian, that I'm aware of)_

_Ringraziarla, mio amore: Thank you, my love_

_Grazi: Thanks._

_I do have some knowledge of the German, Italian, and French languages (not much French, but some Italian, and quite a bit of German), and I did get the direct words from an English-to-Italian dictionary, but the grammar and sentence structure, I got from an online translator, of which, I cannot be sure of its credibility, reliability, or accuracy, sorry. If anyone wishes to correct me and/or help me out, please do so and I will correct it ASAP._

_Please review, if you read, and I will update again in a week. Thanks._


	7. Consolation

_I'm done, done, DONE with finals and halfway through my Bachelor of Arts Music degree! Got in late last night from an end-of-music-theory-and-aural-skills-classes party with two of my friends; it was great fun, so I'm pretty tired today. Had a free day today with little to no commitments or things to do, so I have been enjoying the sunshine and warmth (72 degrees and few clouds!) and am gonna take a nap soon. :) But I thought I should update chapter 7 first._

_Thanks to all who have reviewed so far. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Also thanks to new reviewer, angeleyes46, for the feedback. Congrats to Tiffany331 for being my 25th review! YAY, thank you! Hehe. :) And I noticed I got over 150 hits on chapter 6, though I don't normally keep track. That is pretty great, though it would be even better if all of you reviewed! :)_

_I was re-reading chapter 6 and I realized the details of Emmy's rape needed a bit more clarification, so I went back and changed that a little and expanded on it more, to clear some things up and make for better understanding. Because, if I didn't get it, as the author, there is a possibility you guys would be confused, too, and I don't want that. However, if you don't want to re-read or choose not to, it won't make much difference; I'll just be going back to it a couple times in the next several chapters (you'll see when we get there!) I apologize for adding in and changing things a little, like I have been; I almost never do that, but I felt it was necessary this time._

_Here is chapter 7. The case in this story is based on a true event from my own college life, last fall, at least what details I still remembered when this chapter was written and could sort of take liberties to change and alter things like location, event, and such, to make it workable for the chapter and appropriate for the story (for instance, I changed the university name from mine to one in D.C.) It will be short and to the point. There will be more Emmy/Tony, though, so Happy Reading._

**Chapter 7— Consolation**

* * *

After a few moments of stunned silence, Tony picked up his cell phone. He knew he didn't want to talk to Ziva; Ziva wouldn't understand and wouldn't have the right advice or sympathy for his ears. If he talked with McGee about it, as much as he trusted him and considered him his best friend, it would just be awkward. Maybe he could talk to him after he had calmed down. But at this moment, there was only one person he wanted to talk to, who, of all people, would understand the most and have the right words for him and ears to listen.

"Abby," he said, when she answered, "she left."

"What? What are you talking about, Tony?" Abby asked, confused. "Who left?"

"Em, Abby, she left," Tony said. "She told me something big, and then she got really upset and left, crying. I couldn't convince her to stay."

"What did she tell you, Tony?" Abby asked. When he didn't reply, she said, quieter, "Tony, you know you can trust me with anything."

"I know," Tony said. "She told me she was raped in high school."

"Oh, my God," Abby said, shocked. "Who did it? When?"

"She was eighteen," Tony said. "It was her then-boyfriend, Chris Woods, an enlisted Marine on leave. She said he was nineteen, because she said he'd been in the Services a year or so. He was never tried or convicted, because he committed suicide that night. He was to be redeployed to Iraq the next day. They had had a fight about him leaving and he lost it and got violent and..." Tony couldn't finish.

"Oh, my God, Tony," Abby said, alarmed and full of concern. "I'm coming over."

"No, Abby, don't, it's OK," Tony said. "I'm just gonna leave a message at her house, then give her some space."

"OK," Abby said. "Call me if you need me, OK?"

"I will," Tony said, then he pressed End. He called Emmy's cell phone, as she had no land line, but after four rings, he only got voicemail. He figured that was where she had gone, because it was late at night and dark. Therefore, if she was home, she was ignoring his call.

"Emmy, it's Tony. Please call me. I know you're scared and upset, but you did nothing wrong. It was not wrong of you to tell me. Please don't think I'm angry or judging you. I'm not. Please call me. We need to talk."

Tony sighed as he flipped his phone shut again.

* * *

"Tony... you look terrible."

"_Really_, McObvious, I had no idea?" Tony snapped sarcastically.

Tony had barely slept all night. When he had, he had dreamt of a crying Emmy, guilt-ridden over an incident that had been in no way her fault. He couldn't imagine going through something like that. He wanted her to be entirely happy and comfortable, personally and professionally, but it was clear she wasn't. He hoped none of it was his fault, but he felt he had, in some way, triggered painful memories from the past.

He had no idea what to do. He wanted to go to her, but he knew she would not want him to be there right now, even though that would have been the right thing for her to do; she needed her space.

He wished he could talk to Jenny. She had helped him out last time, when he needed advice on whether to take the next step in his relationship with Jeanne or not. And he had. And he had screwed up by blowing his cover. Jeanne had left him, then later, Jenny had been killed in the line of duty.

Tony was tired of the people he loved getting hurt or killed, or both.

First his mother, then Kate, then Jenny, then Jeanne. Now Emmy.

Tony wondered who would be next.

He realized he _really _didn't wanna know.

"Is there something you need to talk about?" McGee asked.

"Not now, McGossip," Tony said firmly, scowling at him.

McGee raised an eyebrow at him, and was about to open his mouth to retort, when Gibbs walked into the bullpen, unexpected as usual.

"Gear up," he said.

"We got a case, Boss?" McGee asked him.

"Three Georgetown University students were just found in a submerged car, dead," Gibbs said. "Several friends were the last to see them, two days ago. LEOs just found the car and the bodies, after a day-and-a-half, 30-mile radius search."

"What do they need us for, Boss?" McGee asked.

"We have jurisdiction," Gibbs said. "Let's go."

Tony, McGee, and Ziva quickly grabbed their backpacks, holstered their guns, and followed Gibbs out of the bullpen.

* * *

Gibbs, Ziva, McGee, Ducky, Jimmy, and Tony watched somberly as a crane pulled a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee out of a pond, north of Washington, D.C. Water poured from the grill, air vents, and seams of the car; three bodies floated inside.

For a moment, Tony was uncannily reminded of the time he had to save Gibbs and Maddie Tyler from drowning, when Gibbs had unintentionally driven the NCIS car into the Washington Channel, to avoid him and Maddie getting shot by villains.

"McGee: bag and tag, Ziva: interview witnesses, Tony: photos and sketch," Gibbs barked.

Tony jumped slightly. Brought out of his thoughts, he shook his head to clear the memory. Gibbs was on solid ground now; he was fine. Tony needed to focus on his task at hand.

Once the Jeep was on solid ground, several LEOs took off the doors— windows still rolled up and intact— using the Jaws of Life, then drained out the water. Tony began taking photos of the car, then took photos of the bodies in the car, then the LEOs gently laid them out on plastic sheets on the grass and more photos were taken. A crowd was beginning to gather, including many college students and university faculty.

Ducky and Jimmy arrived a moment later, bickering as usual, in two N.C.I.S. Medical Examiner vans.

"Sorry we're late, Jethro, we got lost, as usual," Ducky said, regretfully.

"_We _did not get lost, Doctor," Jimmy argued. "I was following you."

"Yes, but it is your fault _I _got lost, for not putting the map back where it was supposed to be, Mr. Palmer," Ducky fired back.

"And where was that?" Jimmy challenged.

"In the driver's-side door pocket," Ducky said.

"And where was it?" Jimmy asked him, a challenging tone still in his voice.

"On the floor in the back seat; I just found it as we arrived," Ducky said, irritably.

"You're here now. Bodies are over here, Duck," said Gibbs.

The Medical Examiner and his assistant followed Gibbs over to where the three bodies lay on the grass.

"Your first guess, Mr. Palmer?" Ducky asked, after taking a glance; he always gave the up-and-coming Medical Examiner a chance.

Jimmy did not hesitate for a moment. "Drowning, Doctor," Jimmy said, beaming at his mentor.

Ducky groaned slightly and tried not to pull a face. "Oh... yes," he said, slightly disappointed. Jimmy always tried so hard to please him and did not always use his common sense. "But I'm sure we will find more to their stories soon, won't we?" Jimmy nodded. Ducky pulled liver probes out of all three bodies. "Jethro, judging by body temperature, I'd estimate their deaths to have been twenty-four to forty-eight hours ago, forty-eight hours at the most."

Jethro nodded. "Thanks, Duck," he said.

Jimmy helped Ducky transfer the bodies into body bags, onto the gurneys, and the gurneys into the two vans.

"You'll know more when I do, Jethro," Ducky said, before driving off in one of the two vans, Jimmy following, not far behind, in the second van.

"Agent Gibbs," said a voice.

Gibbs turned around. A LEO was walking toward him.

"Officer Jake Collins," the officer said, shaking Gibbs' hand. "I'm the officer in charge of the case."

"What do you got for me?" Gibbs asked him.

"Pond is approximately twelve feet deep. Search chopper saw a white object in the water, which we later realized was the Jeep. Ground searches involved people on foot, ATVs, and cars. I don't have the exact ground numbers."

"Don't need 'em," Gibbs said, walking toward Ziva to observe the interviews.

"We also found a deceased Lhasa Apse dog in the car with them," Collins said.

"I only care about the _human_ victims, Officer Collins," Gibbs said coolly.

Ziva walked up to a few students, male and female, who were watching the scene, some with saddened, lost looks on their faces, some crying.

"I need to speak with those of you who last saw the girls two nights ago," Ziva said rhetorically.

By the way Ziva noticed everyone looking at each other nervously, it appeared as though the entire group might have seen the women before they disappeared, but everyone was too nervous to come forth with information. After a long moment, someone gave two women a light push and they stepped forward.

"Are we under arrest?" the second woman asked.

"No," Ziva said. "This is not a homicide investigation and this is not an interrogation. It is simply a few questions."

"We saw them at a rave two nights ago," the first woman said, "at about 10:45 that night."

"Were they drunk?" Ziva asked.

"Yes," they said together.

"Why did they not have a designated driver?" Ziva asked.

Neither answered her.

Ziva nodded. "What are your names?" she asked.

"Rachel Schwartz," replied the first woman. She indicated to the second girl. "This is April Black. Laura, Taylor, and Megan were our best friends."

"What were their last names?" Ziva asked.

"Laura Carey, she's 21; Taylor McKinney, she's 22; and Megan Kincaid, she's 20," Rachel said. "Laura was a psychology major, Taylor was a physical education major, and Megan was a math major. Laura is from Canada. Taylor and Megan are from California."

"How did you know they were in trouble?" Ziva asked.

"They called my cell," Rachel said.

"Tell me about the phone call," Ziva said.

"It only lasted about thirty seconds," Rachel said. "It was Taylor. I could hear screaming and something about 'the water's coming in'. Then the line went dead. All three of them have cell phones and I tried all three, but they all went straight to voicemail. It's Taylor's car."

"Perhaps she was driving," Ziva said, "but we probably will never know."

Rachel nodded. "They left the party to go stargazing," she said. "For them, that isn't uncommon."

Ziva nodded and wrote this down on her notepad. "No foul play is suspected so far," she said.

"Good," Rachel said. "No one would hurt them. They were popular. They were good people."

Ziva nodded again. "Did they have any enemies?" she asked.

Rachel and April shook their heads.

"Did you ever notice any suspicious behavior?" Ziva asked.

Again, both girls shook their heads.

"We will let you know if we have any more questions," Ziva said.

"OK," Rachel said, and she and the rest of the group walked away.

Ziva went over to Gibbs, who had finished talking with Officer Collins.

"Gibbs," she said, "two witnesses say they saw the three victims leaving a heavy rage Saturday night, before their disappearance Sunday night."

"A _'rave'_, Boss," Tony corrected her, coming up on Gibbs' other side.

"What's a rave?" Gibbs asked.

Tony didn't hesitate before launching into explanation. "A rave is a heavy party, and by heavy, I mean, lots of college kids, alcohol, dancing, pretty girls, and loud music. Rather enjoyable—"

_Smack._

Tony let out a hiss of pain, as Gibbs' hand connected with the back of his head.

"— but there is probably more to the rave and their disappearance than what we know so far, that you'll want to know. on it," Tony finished.

"Ya think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said.

Tony didn't need to fbe told twice. "Photos, on it, Boss," he said loudly, and he walked away.

Tony walked past the car and LEOs, to the pond. Dark tire tracks led from the gravel road to the pond.

"Looks like they just went straight in, Boss," Tony said. He looked over at Gibbs. "You really think this is a homicide? How is it under N.C.I.S. jurisdiction?"

"No foul play suspected," Gibbs said. "It's N.C.I.S. jurisdiction, due to naval involvement."

"What naval involvement?" Tony asked, looking around at the crowd gathering. "These people are all friends."

"Parents of the girls are Senior Master Chiefs," Gibbs said. "They've been notified and are on their way."

"Ah," Tony said.

Ziva turned to Gibbs. "They are telling the truth," she said. "This was an accident."

Gibbs nodded. "Ducky will be able to tell us the rest. We need to go back and see if he knows more and we need to talk to the parents, once they get here."

Ziva nodded again and she, McGee, and Tony followed Gibbs away.

* * *

When lunch break came, Tony pulled out his phone and dialed Emmy's cell, as he went down to the cafeteria to get coffee and food. This time, she picked up.

"Hello?"

"So, are you on lunch break, too?" Tony asked.

"Yes, why?" Emmy asked, sounding like she really did not want to talk at the moment. Tony wondered if she had been crying again, away from her work.

"Em, we need to talk," Tony said. "This whole avoiding me thing won't solve anything. I know you're still feeling incredibly guilty for what happened, even though none of it was ever your fault and you did nothing wrong. You can talk to me about it. I'm not judging you and I'm not angry. You need to get help, even though they can't be tried for it again."

"Talking won't change anything, Tony," Emmy said.

"But it can help," Tony said. "Please, Em, talk to me or a counselor or somebody."

"There's nothing more to say, Tony," Emmy said. "I told you everything."

"All right, fine," Tony gave in, "but at least let me see you and talk to you. You don't have to hide from me, love. You know that."

There was a pause, then Emmy said, "OK."

"Really?" Tony asked, surprised.

"Yes," Emmy said, though she still sounded awkward and upset. "Let's, um, have dinner or something."

"OK," Tony said. "I'll pick you up. Then we can go dancing or something. You liked dancing at Abby's dinner party, right?"

"Yes, I did. OK. Sounds fun," Emmy said. "When do you want to have dinner?"

"How about tonight?" Tony asked. "I haven't seen you in days."

"OK," Emmy said. "See you at five."

"All right," Tony said. "See you then."

Tony hung up his cell phone, feeling slightly more optimistic. Five o'clock couldn't come fast enough.

* * *

The autopsy doors hissed open, as Gibbs walked in. Ducky turned around.

"Ah, Jethro, good timing," he said. "I have just completed the autopsy on Laura Carey."

"And?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, I don't have a lot to tell you," Ducky said. "It's quite clear her suffering was brief, that she quickly drowned. But her toxicology screens came up clean."

"So?" Gibbs asked.

"Well," Ducky said, "it means the alcohol must have filtered out of their bodies before they died, possibly even before they left and went missing. For women, it takes an hour per drink, for men, 45 minutes. It's safe to say Taylor and Megan's autopsies will turn out similar or identical, so until I'm finished with them, I can also assume they were also not under the influence of alcohol or drugs when they died. They likely got lost and couldn't see the road and their car went straight into the water. Their tragic deaths were all an unfortunate accident."

"Thanks, Duck. When you're done with those autopsies, you and Palmer take a break," Gibbs said, turning to walk out of Autopsy.

Later, Ducky had finished with the autopsies. His speculation had been right: all three girls, while not intoxicated or on any drugs at the time of the accident, had drowned within a few minutes of the Jeep going into the water. With consoling the families and friends of the victims being all that was left, the case was closed.

_

* * *

_

I couldn't resist putting in the head-slap (finally, my first one, YAY!) Or where typical Tony launches into explanation about what a rave is. Or the instant Jimmy response to Ducky's "what happened here?" question, LOL.

My uncle is in the Navy, as a Master Senior Chief, who goes all over the world, taking care of the electrical systems on planes. There's a more official title to it, but I'm not sure what it is. But as I was able to get a little information about the rank and duties from my grandmother, I thought it best to use that rank for the girls' parents, to make it legit and workable.

I start my summer job Monday, working 10-hour days Monday through Thursday, so I'm not sure when I will be updating next. However, as I usually will have Fridays off, I think the usual chapter-a-week/Friday night deadline will still be possible, so expect chapter 8 to be updated around May 21. If it isn't updated right away that night, please forgive me, I will be just getting into the swing of things summer job and my story won't be the first thing on my to-do list and such.

_As always, please review!_


	8. Guardian Angel

_Hey, guys. Well, once again, it has been a heck of a week, but not in a bad stressful way. I mean, yeah, I've had to adjust to my summer job, forestry-type stuff, in a quick hurry, with very vague training, but I don't mind being forced to be self-sufficient, self-relying, and having to learn and memorize quickly, because I know I can do it. And I'm officially a college junior this fall-- 7 A's and 1 B for the semester, YEAH! __My sister graduates high school next weekend-- I'm super excited for her! Other than that, not a lot else going on with me, unless you count someone 'taking over' our home computer yesterday and blocking us out of it and my parents having to pay $250 to get it fixed and memory restored, and hopefully nothing has been stolen, whatever that means... Of course, it's my fault, because I'm the primary desktop user, because they use my dad's laptop! AHH! Regardless, hopefully we can take some measures to prevent phishing like that again, and I am still able to bring you chapter 8, because it's been uploading in the Document Manager for weeks now, just waiting to be posted, so I decided to post a day early, because I wasn't sure if I was gonna have computer access tomorrow._

_Thank you to new reviewers, angeleyes46, Pam11, One-Crazy-Ninja-Chick, and DefinedGravity, for the feedback. New readers and reviews are always exciting. Thanks, as always, to Tiffany331, sarahsrr, etc. for sticking with me this far. Y'all are awesome._

_Once again, I will disclaim that I do not own any references to, or quotes from, _Subzero: Batman and Mr. Freeze _(1998). Warner Bros. does. But I couldn't resist. This chapter will be intense and worth the wait. Here is chapter 8. Intense and hurtTony- yay! Enjoy._

**Chapter 8— Guardian Angel**

* * *

At 4:45 that same day, Tony was getting ready to leave and go pick Emmy up, when to his surprise, the elevator doors dinged and she walked into the bullpen.

"Emmy," Tony said, going over to her, "what are you doing here? I thought I was supposed to pick you up?"

"I thought I'd come surprise you," Emmy said. "I got off work early, so it was only a short walk."

"I'm glad you came," Tony said. "Do you want to change before we go or anything?"

"Sure," Emmy said. "I've got my outfit picked out at my place, so it won't take me long to get ready."

"OK," Tony said. He looked at Ziva and McGee. "See you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, Tony," McGee said. "Bye, Emmy."

"Have a good time," Ziva said.

Emmy smiled appreciatively at them, then left with Tony.

* * *

As the band played Benny Goodman's "Sing, Sing, Sing" in the background, after all the dinner plates were taken away and people began to dance, Tony went to get him and Emmy some drinks. He got a glass of water and a glass of lemonade for Emmy and a Rum and Coke for himself.

"You look beautiful," he said, softly, to her.

"Thank you," Emmy said. Tonight, she wore a white one-shoulder goddess dress, complete with a silver shawl and red ballet flats.

Since Tony was off-duty, he chose to wear one of his red-and-white Hawaiian shirts, khaki pants, and a black jacket, which was comfortable and also looked sharp. He held up the glasses, then someone promptly ran into him, causing him to spill most of the drinks on his jacket.

Emmy laughed at him.

"Oh, man," Tony groaned. "This should happen to McGee, not me."

"It could have been worse," Emmy said.

"Yeah, how?" Tony asked her, taking off his jacket, laying it on the back of another chair, and sliding into a chair next to her.

"It could have been me," she teased, taking her glass of lemonade from him. "We got enough left for a toast?"

Smiling, Tony sat down and tipped his glass toward her, now only about a quarter-full. "Sure. What do we drink to?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Mm, how about that kiss you're about to give me?" Emmy asked, smiling.

"I'll drink to that," Tony said, smiling and leaning in and kissing her. Then they both drank what remained of their drinks. "Do you wanna dance?" he asked her.

"Sure," Emmy said.

They got up and Tony led her over to the dance floor and they danced to Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer".

Pretending he was holding a microphone as he danced with her, Tony sang to Emmy, "_Tommy used to work on the docks. Union's been on strike, he's down on his luck. It's tough, so tough. Gina works the diner all day. Working for her man, she brings home her pay. For love, mm, for love._"

"_She says we've got to hold onto what we've got. It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not. We got each other and that's a lot. For love, we'll give it a shot_," Emmy sang back to him, also pretending to hold a microphone, while they both danced around the room.

"_Oh, we're halfway there. Oh, oh, livin' on a prayer. Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear. Oh, oh, living on a prayer_," they sang together.

A couple minutes later, the song ended and they sat back down, slightly breathlessly and laughing.

"That was fun," Emmy said.

"Yeah, it's a great song," Tony said. "Probably the biggest 80s hit there was."

Emmy smiled.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked her.

"Sure," Emmy said. She fanned herself with her hand. "It's warm in here."

"Yeah, it is," Tony said. "I'll pay, then we can get some fresh air and go."

"OK," Emmy said.

Tony caught their waiter's attention and asked for the bill. He paid with his VISA card, then they left together.

* * *

As they were walking out of the club, Emmy noticed Tony was quiet.

"What are you thinking about?" Emmy asked, reading his expression.

"Oh," Tony said. "Not a lot." Emmy gave him a look. "Really," he said. "No, really, I'm just happily zoning." He smiled. "I'm glad you had a good time."

"Me too," Emmy said. "It was fun. I love dancing with you."

Tony smiled. "I have a lifetime of skills," he teased.

Emmy chuckled.

They got into Tony's Chevelle and drove back to Emmy's apartment.

"I've been thinking about what you said," Emmy said to Tony, "and I think I will talk to someone professionally about... my incident."

Tony took her hand, listening carefully as he drove.

"I don't want to, and I know it will be hard, but if it works in the end, then I'll do it," Emmy said.

"Good," Tony said. "I'm proud of you for starting to take this step. I'm here, if you need me."

Emmy smiled.

Upon arriving, as they got out of the car and were walking to Emmy's front steps. They paused, looking at each other for a moment.

"Thank you for coming with me tonight," Tony said.

"Of course," Emmy said, looking up at him. "I love you, Tony."

"I love you, too," Tony said. He took her into his arms and pulled her into a soft kiss.

As their lips parted and Tony pulled Emmy close to him to hold her, out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw a black Volvo pull up in front of the house and stop. Looking past her, Tony saw the window roll down, a hand gun slide out, and he realized what was happening a split second too late.

"Shooter!" Tony yelled, as he shoved himself and Emmy to the ground, hearing a gunshot ring out at the exact same moment. Emmy screamed. Tony felt a burning pain in his shoulder, as he fell to the ground, reaching for his back-up .22 caliber and firing two rounds into the Volvo, shattering the partially rolled down passenger-side window.

In the ringing silence that followed, a blonde-haired woman and a brown-haired man got out of the passenger and driver's sides of the car and walked slowly over to where Tony and Emmy lay, in a daze. Next moment, Tony could hear Emmy screaming and trying to defend herself and get away, as the man bound and gagged her. But the sound seemed to be coming from farther away. Wondering what was wrong with his hearing, Tony attempted to go to Emmy, to defend her, but the resulting pain from his injury sent him reeling into a haze.

The man picked Emmy up and carried her, still attempting to scream, to the car and laid her in the trunk and slammed it shut. Then the woman's foot made contact with the back of Tony's head, hard, and Tony's world exploded into stars, then faded to black.

* * *

Tony didn't know how long it was before he regained consciousness. When he did, panic and desperation immediately threatened to engulf him. He held a bracing hand to his injured shoulder and rolled over very carefully, yet still, the fiery pain made black spots bloom in his vision. Tony paused for several moments to take in gasping breaths and collect his senses. His hand came away from his shoulder, bloody. Using the railing for support, Tony awkwardly and very painfully pulled himself to his feet, trying very hard not to black out. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed speed dial 1.

"Yeah, Gibbs," Gibbs answered, after the second ring.

"Boss..." Tony gasped. The severe pain in his shoulder was making it difficult to breathe. "Boss... I really screwed up."

"Where are you, Tony?" Gibbs demanded, hearing pain, fear and panic in his senior agent's voice.

Tony quickly gave him Emmy's address.

"Stay on the phone until I get there, Tony, do you understand me?" Gibbs demanded.

"Sure, Boss," Tony said. But then he attempted a step, and the change in equilibrium made his head spin wildly. He heard Gibbs yelling his name over the phone, as the ground quickly rushed up to meet him.

* * *

_I know, I know, I'm evil, hehe. But I feed off my readers' angst. :) Please review, if you read, and tell me what you thought, and you'll get to see what happens next, when I update in a week, around May 28! Thanks. I will reply to the reviews as soon as our computer is fixed, and/or I have access to different computers somewhere. :/ :)_


	9. The Rescue

_I decided to update a day early, because I got the afternoon off, unfortunately unpaid, due to rain. Ugh! Oh well, starting next weekend, I will begin working 60 hours a week, so I really could care less at that point if I run out of work to do and am sent home, LOL._

_Our home computer is fixed, however not plugged back in yet, and I think we have a LOT of reinstalling to do, and it's kinda been implied I've been banned henceforth from it... Very frustrating. On a better note, though, my sister is graduating high school this weekend, yay! That's pretty much all going on with me.  
_

_For what I believe will be the last time, I give this disclaimer: I don't own any quotes or references to _Subzero: Batman and Mr. Freeze _(1998). Warner Bros. does. I simply borrow it and/or like to play with it and use it. :)  
_

_Thank you to Claire and the Clones, for helping me out with military ranks. If I ever do write another case (I'm not very good at writing them, so I don't like to), I will use that site you gave me for help. Thanks. :)_

_Also thank you to new reviewer, QueenoftheKill, for the feedback. So glad you're enjoying it so far!  
_

_Here is chapter 9. It is dedicated to my __**LOVELY **__beta reader, Tiffany331, without whom, parts of the chapter would not be what they are today. The RP was really helpful, Tiff, thanks! I did take a little liberty with this case, otherwise it would not have worked within the chapter. Enjoy._

**Chapter 9— The Rescue**

* * *

When Tony regained consciousness, he was blinded by white.

"Where am I?" he asked, as his blurry vision cleared and the room came into focus.

"Washington Medical Center I.C.U.," said Gibbs. Scowling, in a more frustrated, angrier tone, he added, "You got yourself shot."

"Noticed," Tony said, wincing. It would have been better if Gibbs had yelled. The seriousness in his soft tone of voice, mingled with disappointment, pressed heavily on Tony from all directions.

Only Gibbs was there. Tony presumed Abby was back at her lab, but he had no idea where McGee and Ziva were.

"Did you see who?" Gibbs asked.

"Kind of," Tony replied vaguely, "but I can only give you bare minimum details. I bet there are thousands of blonde-haired, green-eyed women and brown-haired, blue-eyed men in D.C."

"McGee will do a sketch with you when he comes back from the scene. Abby will find something. I'll go get your doctor," Gibbs said, before quickly stepping out into the hallway.

* * *

Tony was waiting for Gibbs when he came back in, finishing his promised phone call to Abby.

"No, Abby, I won't let you come down here right now," he said. "You need to do a ballistics test on that shell casing we found outside Tony's apartment." He frowned. "No buts. You finish that test, then maybe I'll think about letting you come. But for now, we need you there."

Tony heard Abby say something to Gibbs and smiled appreciatively, before Gibbs hung up. Gibbs looked at Tony as he came over and sat down in a chair, next to the bed.

"Hey, Boss," Tony said quietly. The morphine was making him very tired and hot.

"Glad you decided to join us," Gibbs said. "Abby's on her way down, after she runs a ballistics test on the shell casing we found outside the apartment."

His gaze softened, as he looked into the hazel eyes of his agent's, mixed with pain and fear. He found himself at a loss for words.

Finally, after a few moments of thinking, he settled on, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Now Tony was the silent one; so unusual it was, for him to not be laughing and full of humor, innuendos, and movie references.

"Boss, I really screwed up. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, DiNozzo, it's a—"

"— sign of weakness. Yeah, I know," Tony interrupted him. Gibbs glared at him. "Just let me get this out."

Gibbs inclined his head slightly toward Tony, indicating for him to go on.

"It's not safe for Emmy to be with me," Tony said. "Tonight wouldn't have happened, if she wasn't."

"Do you know who did it?" Gibbs asked.

"I have an idea," Tony said vaguely. "I think it might have been Emmy's ex's parents, the way she was... reacting when they took her."

"On what grounds are you accusing them?" Gibbs asked.

Tony quickly gave Gibbs what brief details Emmy had given him, about when she was raped in high school, followed by Chris Wood's suicide and his parents blaming it all on Emmy.

"She said they never forgave her for what happened, even though it wasn't her doing or her fault. I'm sure they're still bitter about it, so I think, if there's any grounds whatsoever to check them out, we should," Tony said.

"OK," Gibbs said. "We'll get a warrant and check out their house, and if we don't find them there, we'll track down their car through DMV and put out a BOLO. Just get some rest."

"Boss, I can't just sit here and do nothing, while she's out there with _them_," Tony exclaimed, as he attempted to get up out of bed. But the pain was too much and sent him reeling back down.

"You can and you will, DiNozzo," Gibbs said firmly, glaring at him. "Sit your ass back in that bed! You're in no shape to be in the field, let alone going after your girlfriend's kidnappers. Rule Number 10: Never get personally involved with a case. You know that."

"What am I supposed to do, then, Boss, sit here and knit?" Tony demanded. "I want to help find her. I failed to protect her and it's only right that I try to find her and make things right."

"No, you're going to stay here and that's an order," Gibbs said. "And if you _do _sign yourself out, I will bench you as long as I need to."

Tony was surprised, but at the same time, had kind of expected this.

"I'd better not find out that you gave the doctors and nurses any trouble, either," Gibbs said firmly.

Tony scowled, frustrated. However, before he could retort, McGee and Ziva entered the room.

"Hey, McGoo, Zee-vah," Tony greeted them.

"Hello, Tony. Glad to see you are all right," said Ziva.

"Hey, Tony," McGee said. He looked rather distracted and flustered. "Glad you're OK. Abby said to give you Bert."

Without hesitation, McGee set the farting hippo on the nightstand next to Tony's bed. Tony couldn't help it; in spite of himself, he smiled slightly, then promptly banished it as he looked from Gibbs to McGee, waiting for news.

To Gibbs, McGee said, "Boss, we found a silver ring on a blue chain at the scene. We also found a shell casing. I sent both to Abby, along with the bullet they took out of Tony."

"What? You found that? No!" Tony exclaimed. "That was the promise ring I gave her. It must have come off her neck when they took her." Tony sighed deeply and buried his face in his hands for a moment to contain himself, the EKG registering his agitation.

"Abby will take good care of it, Tony," McGee assured him. "You— rather, Emmy— will have it back as soon as she's done, sooner if she doesn't find anything on it."

Tony nodded, then looked at Gibbs. "Boss, we need to find her."

"We will, Tony," Gibbs said, softer. Gibbs stood up. "Ziva, McGee, with me."

The three agents left, and Tony was left to nothing but his thoughts and painkillers.

* * *

Meanwhile, at her captors' house, Emmy was being held in the basement. It was just her, a bed, a small adjoining bathroom, and a washer and dryer. The basement was rather dark, having only two windows. Still in her dress, Emmy had quickly gotten cold. Heat would come on about every hour, but it didn't last long and Emmy would get cold again. She had managed to find some blankets in a closet and added them to the bed.

Emmy couldn't stop thinking about Tony. The situation at her house kept replaying in her head, causing her more and more worry. She wondered if he was all right. Where was he now? Was he even alive?

She hated Lucas and Elizabeth Woods for doing this to her, for doing what they did to Tony. All because they were still holding a grudge about their son's death, 12 years later, none of which had been her fault back then, and all Tony had tried to do was protect her from them, their hatred, and their gun. In part, he had succeeded, at great cost to himself.

She tried to open the window, but the humidity from the spring rain a few hours earlier had caused it to swell and it wouldn't budge. Tony had taught her all of Gibbs' rules, over the course of their relationship. Now she was putting Rule #9 into action: Never go anywhere without a knife. Reaching down, she pulled a small folded knife out of her shoe, got up on her bed, and began to unscrew the screws on the window, which was about level with her. But they were old and wouldn't turn easily. After a few minutes of trying, she gave up, sighing, and she set it on the ledge, and sat back down on the bed to think of what to do next.

* * *

Abby whirled around, as Gibbs entered her lab.

"Gibbs!" she said. "How's Tony?"

"Fine, Abbs, since you asked me an hour ago. He'll be released tonight."

"Yay!" Abby exclaimed, jumping up and down, then hugging Gibbs before he could react.

After she released him, Gibbs asked, "What have you got for me?"

"I have good news," Abby said.

"Hit me, Abbs," Gibbs said.

Abby was momentarily confused. "What? No. I would never," she said, giving him a confused look.

Gibbs stared at her, waiting. Abby beamed and turned back around toward her computer.

"Facial recognition matched the sketch to a Lucas Woods." At the flare of recognition in Gibbs' eyes, she asked, "Ring any bells?" Gibbs inclined his head toward her, indicating for her to go on. "I know what gun shot Tony. That shell casing you sent me matches a Glock nine-mil."

"Abbs, that is probably one of the most common handguns in the country," Gibbs said, frustrated.

"I know, because unlike other handguns, you can get bullets for it in both the U.S. and Europe. Cool, huh?" Abby asked him. "But the shell casing matches the bullet found in Tony. I matched the gun to its maker in D.C. and looked up the records in the D.C. registry. It was sold to a Lucas Woods."

"Yeah; what else have you got for me?" Gibbs asked.

"With the gun registry comes a name, and with a names comes—"

"Address, Abbs."

Abby gave Gibbs the address, then Gibbs quickly left the lab.

* * *

A little while after her failed knifing attempt of the window, Emmy found a chair in the laundry room. She carried it into the bedroom, then climbed onto the bed to give herself more height, and threw it against the window, which would be barely large enough for her to climb through. She cried out as glass rained down on her. She swept the large pieces away with her knife, then stepped up on the headboard of the bed and started to climb out.

She had made it halfway out before a strong pair of arms grabbed her and pulled her back in.

"No!" Emmy yelled.

Just as Lucas began to pull her in, she managed to grab the knife from the window ledge. She struggled in his grasp, kicking and screaming, and just managed to turn enough, and she slashed his left arm. Lucas let her go with a yell of pain and Emmy fell onto the bed. She froze when she saw Elizabeth pointing a gun at her.

The same gun that had shot, and possibly killed, Tony. At the moment, Emmy had no idea if Tony really was still dead or alive. The thought scared her to death.

She knew her only hope was to stall them, so N.C.I.S. could have more time to get there, before Lucas and Elizabeth killed her.

"N.C.I.S. is onto you," she said, in what she hoped was a threatening tone. "They will come for me."

Lucas laughed. "I've had them running around all night," he said. Suddenly, with his good right arm, he backhanded her, hard, in the face. He took out a pair of manacles, and as he held her down with his good arm, Elizabeth handcuffed Emmy to the bed. She also took Emmy's knife away.

"Try that again," Lucas said, "and I'll chain your feet as well."

"Why are you doing this?" Emmy asked him. "What did I ever do to you?"

Lucas scoffed. "You took our son from us," he said. "He was the best part of our lives and you took him from us. All because you claimed he raped you, and because you accused him, he couldn't deal with it and killed himself."

"He did rape me!" Emmy yelled. "I didn't take him away from you! I didn't kill him! I didn't make him kill himself! That was his stupid decision! I had nothing to do with it! I loved him and you were the ones who made things hard for us!"

"If we have our way, you'll end up the same way he did, and you'll never be able to see your family, or your cop boyfriend, again," Lucas said.

Emmy sighed. Her ideas were running out. So, too, was time.

With the warrant in his pocket and his gun drawn, Gibbs approached the house, Ziva and McGee on his six. They saw the kitchen was unoccupied, so they spread out to check the office, bedroom, dining room, and family room. When those checks brought nothing, they headed toward the basement.

"Now, if you'll excuse us," Lucas said to Emmy, "we're going to go upstairs and call your worthless parents for the ransom."

Emmy stared at Lucas, as he turned around to walk away. Suddenly, Elizabeth whirled around, gun pointed. Ziva had come silently down the stairs and already had her gun pointed at Elizabeth.

"N.C.I.S.! Drop your weapon!" Ziva yelled. When Elizabeth didn't move, she asked, "Would you prefer me to shoot you to become a paraplegic or quadriplegic? Drop it!"

As Elizabeth, who clearly did not want to be shot, dropped the gun, Gibbs and McGee burst into the room, their guns already pointed at Lucas, who froze before he had even taken a step. Ziva had Elizabeth, now weapon-less, covered with her gun.

"On the ground, now!" Gibbs yelled. "Hands on your head!"

Lucas and Elizabeth did as they were told. Gibbs kicked the gun away, then the couple was quickly handcuffed by Ziva and McGee.

Gibbs came over to Emmy and uncuffed her. "You OK?" he asked, looking down at her.

Emmy nodded vaguely. She got up and staggered. She was weak, not having had anything to eat in at least 24 hours.

Gibbs steadied her and held onto her. "Come on. Let's get you out of here. We'll bring you back to Ducky and have him check you out." He noticed a bleeding cut on her face, from where Lucas had hit her, but she seemed otherwise all right to him at the moment. "Doesn't look like anything too serious that Ducky can't fix."

Emmy nodded in agreement. "No," she said. "How's Tony?"

"He's fine," Gibbs said. Emmy sighed with relief. "Once you've had something to eat and drink, you can probably go see him. He's been worried."

"So have I," Emmy said, as they stepped outside into the night. "Thank you, Agent Gibbs." She looked up at him.

Gibbs nodded silently, as she climbed into the passenger seat of the SUV he drove, with Lucas, handcuffed, in the back seat, while McGee drove the other, Ziva in the passenger seat and Elizabeth, handcuffed, in the back seat. They took them to the holding cells, as Gibbs led Emmy down to Autopsy.

Noticing her apprehension, Gibbs said, "You don't look bad enough to go to the hospital, so he'll look you over and patch you up, if the need be. Then Ziva and McGee will take you down to the cafeteria, and you can go see Tony."

"OK," Emmy said, nodding. "Agent Gibbs, do you know when Tony is going to be released?"

"Soon," was all Gibbs said.

The Autopsy doors hissed open and Gibbs and Emmy entered Autopsy. Ducky met them at the entrance.

"Hello, Emmy," Ducky greeted her.

"Hello, Ducky," Emmy said.

"Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?" Ducky asked, his tone cheerful to keep her calm.

"Thanks, Ducky," Emmy said, smiling weakly.

"You look well, considering," Ducky said, as he looked her over. "You might get bruises there"— he pointed to where she had been handcuffed to the bed, and where Lucas had backhanded her— "but they will fade. This cut is superficial and will heal fine." He gently cleaned it with some soap and water, then put antibacterial ointment on it, to prevent infection, and put a Band-Aid on it. "Otherwise," he added, "besides hungry and parched, you look fine, my dear."

"Thanks, Ducky," Emmy said again.

"You are most welcome," Ducky said kindly, smiling.

Emmy smiled, then left with Gibbs. They took the elevator back up to the bullpen and Gibbs indicated for Emmy to sit at Tony's desk. Emmy looked at it warily for a moment, then sat down. McGee and Ziva entered the bullpen.

"Hey, Emmy," McGee said. "It's good to see you. Glad you're OK."

Emmy smiled. "Thanks, Tim. So this is what you guys do? Just have a case and arrest people, then it's back to normal?"

"Basically," Ziva said. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm really tired," Emmy said. "And I really need a shower."

Ziva chuckled. "Come down to the cafeteria and get something to eat and drink." Emmy glanced at the elevator doors. Ziva noticed and said, "You will be right back, then you can go visit Tony."

"OK," Emmy said. She wasn't one to argue; she was definitely hungry and very thirsty.

She went down to the cafeteria with Ziva and McGee, and came back with a sub sandwich and bottled water in hand. She sat down at Tony's desk and began to eat. After going without food for the length of time she had, she knew she had to gradually adjust to eating and drinking like normal again, or she would get sick.

"I really appreciate everything you all have done for me," Emmy said to the three of them, "especially saving my life."

The three agents smiled– even Gibbs.

"It's what we do," he said.

"This day would end even better, if I could see—"

_Ding._

The elevator doors opened and Tony stepped out, into the bullpen, his left arm in a sling. Emmy's jaw dropped. "Tony!"

Mid-swallow, she dropped her sandwich onto the wrapper, ran over to him, but slowed before she got to him. He groaned slightly as she wrapped her arms around his neck, then laughed as she kissed him full on the mouth, and they hugged. Tony hugged her tightly with his good arm.

"Are you OK?" Tony asked her, looking deep into her eyes, as the others, smiling, watched silently behind them. "Em, I'm so sorry."

Emmy shook her head. "It wasn't your fault," she said. "I'm fine. I'm just so glad you're OK. Oh, my God, look at you..." Tears formed in her eyes, as she hugged him gently again. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too," Tony said, kissing her temple and running his good fingers through her hair.

They walked over to his desk together. "What's the sling for?" she asked.

"Just a precaution," Tony said, "to keep my shoulder still, so it can heal. I'm gonna be outta the field for a while."

Emmy nodded. "That's OK," she said.

Tony nodded. "It's just... a flesh wound," he said. He attempted a smile, but it came across as more of a grimace.

Emmy smiled, half worried and half immensely relieved.

"Tony!"

Tony braced himself only a moment before Abby rammed into him.

"Ahhh. Hey, Abbs," Tony said, groaning painfully. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I've been waiting! I'm so glad you're OK! And you're back!" Abby exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, I'm back, in the flesh. Checking in," Tony said. "I'll be out of the field for a while with this."

Abby nodded. "But you're OK, and that's all that matters!" she exclaimed, hugging him again.

"Ahh, Abbs, please," Tony groaned painfully. Abby released him, looking concerned. "Painful..." He was telling the truth.

Abby nodded and restrained herself, then took a few deep breaths and calmed down.

"Good to see you again, too, Abbs," Tony said, smiling at her.

Abby smiled.

"Come on," Tony said, kissing Emmy's temple, "let's go home."

Emmy nodded again. They turned to face Gibbs, Ziva, and McGee.

"Boss, we're gonna—" Tony began.

"— take the day," Gibbs said, anticipating what Tony was about to say. "Yeah, I know. Get outta here. See you Monday."

"No, Saturday," Tony said. Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "It's Emmy's birthday and I want to throw her a party, Saturday at three. You're all invited, so don't be late. That means you, too, Boss."

Gibbs nodded. "All right, Saturday," he said.

Tony nodded, then put his good arm around Emmy and left with her.

_

* * *

_

So now you all know that Tony and Emmy are both gonna be OK! But especially Tony, LOL. No more whump Tony, I promise... for now. :) But I basically adored that chapter ending with my whole heart. :) And, ahem, I love it when Ziva threatens to paralyze people, cuz she's a trained Mossad assasin and totally could, depending where she shot them. :D You may be able to tell that I took a very small liberty with the whole ballistics/gun part, to make it work within the chapter.

_I am still looking for more suggestions for what the team could get Emmy for her birthday, from all of them, in addition to Tony's gift to her— you'll see— because her 29__th__ birthday party will be the next chapter. Leave any ideas you might have in reviews and I'll decide before I post chapter 10. As per the last time I needed suggestions for something, you have a week to think about it. :) I was thinking an NCIS jacket or hat or a sweatshirt or a book or something, but I'm not entirely sure what would be appropriate both professionally and casually and from Gibbs, Abby, Ziva, McGee, Ducky, and Jimmy combined. Let me know what you guys think. You have a week to think about it. I've been trying to think about it for weeks, and have just been coming up blank. Bah! Chapter 10 will be posted up around June 4._

_As usual, if you read, please review to tell me what you thought! Thanks!_


	10. Birthday Surprises

_I probably should have mentioned this in the chapter posted last week, but I didn't think much of the season 7 finale... Yes, I loved Gibbs meeting Tony and Ziva at the airport, because the Mexicans let him go, to run drugs for them, to protect his family from harm (I figured he hadn't escaped, because there was no intense going-after/rescue scene), and yes, I loved the Shannon part, and yes, I'm super worried about Jackson Gibbs and will be all summer now... but other than that, I didn't think much of it. It wasn't brilliant (sorry, Tiff, I know you said you were biting your hand in places to keep from screaming... I didn't have any of those moments.) What did you guys think of it? I thought McGee is SO thin now! I liked him better chubby, it was so much less Hollywood-ized, you know? Not that losing weight isn't/wasn't good for him, because I'm sure it was, but still... Anyway, here is chapter 10. Enjoy._

**Chapter 10— Birthday Surprises**

* * *

"Tony, where are we going?" Emmy asked, as Tony wrapped his good arm around her from behind and kissed her cheek.

It was Saturday evening, April 4, and Emmy had just had a wonderful birthday with Tony. She had woken up to breakfast-in-bed; her favorite, pigs-in-a-blanket with pulp-free orange juice. Then they had done some shopping, gone on a long walk, and gone to a movie. Now they were both hungry, so Emmy figured they were going to eat somewhere for dinner.

Tony wouldn't tell her where. "It's a surprise," was all he said. "Just put this on, please." She could hear a smile in his voice.

"Tony, I don't like being blindfolded," Emmy said nervously. She paused, halfway done tying the double-knot in the back.

Tony hadn't thought about that. Of course, she might be uncomfortable with it, after what had happened to her, to them, less than a week ago. Lucas and Elizabeth hadn't blindfolded her, but he still understood her fear.

"Do you trust me?" Tony asked her, gently.

"Of course," Emmy said.

Tony took her hand in his free, good hand and guided her outside and down the front steps to his Chevelle. He helped her into the passenger seat and buckled her in. Then he went around to the driver's side and got in himself.

"Tony, you shouldn't be driving," Emmy said, frowning slightly at him. "I can't believe you never asked the doctors if it was OK."

"Why should I have? It's better me driving with one hand and two feet, than you blindfolded, now, isn't it?" Tony teased her. "Besides, I didn't take any painkillers this morning. I'm fine to drive. You know you're really cute when you're mad."

Though she was trying to be serious, Emmy couldn't help herself; she laughed.

"All right, fine, be that way," she said. "God, you're so stubborn. Need I remind you that I know how you feel about my looks, babe. Yesterday, you wouldn't stop going on and on about them under the influence."

Tony blushed. "What else did I say?" he asked her suspiciously.

"Nothing I minded," she assured him, smiling. "But you know I'm gonna get motion sick, if it's a long way."

"It's not far," Tony assured her. As they began to drive off, he said, "You know, this kinda reminds me of a case we had once."

"What happened?" Emmy asked.

"It was a Marine Sergeant and his wife and daughter had been kidnapped. Long story short, the daughter was blind and an amazing pianist, her mom said. Eventually, even though she was blind, she helped us solve the case. Being blind, her acute other senses came in handy."

Emmy nodded.

She didn't know how far they drove, before she felt the car slow, stop, and heard Tony park the car. Being blindfolded, her other senses were keener than usual, so she didn't get motion sick. She had always had good hearing and a strong sense of smell.

She heard the driver's side car door open, Tony get out, and he came over and opened her door. He placed his right hand on hers, then helped her out of the car and into a building. Emmy could hear lots of— she guessed— other patrons' voices, but she still couldn't figure out where she was.

"Sit," said a low female voice.

Emmy jumped and inhaled sharply. "Ziva?" she asked. If it was Ziva, she hadn't heard her step next to her.

Whoever had spoken did not answer her question. As her heart slowed, she felt four hands moved her into a chair. She hesitated slightly, feeling something round and staticky, bump into her arm. None of the hands felt like Tony's, but she thought she recognized the voice from before and wasn't nervous.

"Ooh, she's good, Tony," said another, slightly higher female voice, from in front of Emmy. Emmy felt Tony sit to her left; she was assured it was him when he covered her hand with his own. "We should unveil our guest of honor now."

"Guest of—" Emmy began, as the blindfold was taken off. But she never finished her sentence.

"Happy Birthday!" Tony, Abby, McGee, Jimmy, Ducky, and Ziva said. Gibbs stood silently, but there was a rare small smile on his face.

Emmy's hands flew to her mouth, as she took in the scene: Tony had brought her to Red Lobster, her favorite sit-down restaurant in the entire world, and everyone had been waiting for them, sitting at a long table. Three balloons were tied to each chair, including hers. A waiter brought out her favorite entrée, Cajun linguini alfredo with seasoned chicken, already prepared and ready to eat, along with a large glass of water and a large glass of Mountain Dew.

"Go ahead and dig in," Abby said, smiling at Emmy, as everyone sat down.

Emmy smiled, mixed the sauce in with the noodles and chicken, then closed her eyes and savored her first delicious bite.

"Mm," she said appreciatively, "this is so good..."

"We were told it is your favorite dish," Ziva said, "so we went ahead and ordered it for you. Ours should be out soon."

"Cake and presents are after," Tony said, kissing Emmy's temple.

Emmy smiled. "This is so great, you guys," she said. "Thank you."

The team smiled— even Gibbs— and as their entrees arrived, began to eat as well.

"Can I try a bite of yours?" Tony asked Emmy.

"Sure," Emmy said, "if I can try your blackened walleye?"

Tony nodded and twisted a bite of noodles and stabbed a piece of chicken onto his fork. Through his mouthful, he said, "Mm, this is great."

Emmy chuckled and took a bite of his walleye. It was just about as good as hers.

They finished eating and a cake, complete with 29 candles, was brought out. The chef himself came out and cut pieces for them, giving Emmy the first one. It was her favorite kind; yellow cake, with chocolate frosting.

"When I was about 18, it was my dad's fiftieth birthday," Emmy said, between bites, "and I wanted to bake him a cake, even though I'm not a good cook. I bought the mix and had it all ready to bake, except I didn't have what to put it in. He told me to get the cake pan from above the fridge, and I accidentally got out a casserole dish instead and baked it in that." She grinned, as the team snickered. "It still tasted really good, but it sure looked funny. He laughed so hard when he discovered it, upon coming home."

The team chuckled, as they finished their pieces of cake.

Two presents were brought out. A medium-sized box, the present from the team, and a small box, a present from Tony.

Emmy opened the present from the team first, revealing an NCIS cap, just like the one Tony wore.

"Oh, this is wonderful," she said, smiling at the team, who all smiled back— even Gibbs.

"Happy Birthday, my dear," Ducky said.

Emmy smiled. "Thank you," she said to all of them, as she put the cap on. It fit perfectly.

"And this," Tony said, pushing the smaller box toward her, "is from me."

Emmy unwrapped the present, eying Tony warily.

It was a ring box.

Emmy stared at it, then looked up and stared at Tony. She was at a loss for words.

Tony gently took the box from her hands, turned it and opened it, and looked up at her. Then he got down on one knee.

"Emmy Gerard, will you marry me?" he asked. All traces of painkiller effect was gone from his face, eyes, and voice. He was dead serious.

Emmy was floored. "Are you sure? I mean, a-are you really sure?" she stammered. "Because if you're not sure, we could just get back in the car and do this all over again. It's only been six months."

"You know I usually don't ask a question I don't already know the answer to," Tony said, just as quickly, "so... at the risk of being rejected twice, I'm going to ask again. Emmy Grace Gerard, will you marry me?"

"Yes," Emmy said, laughing, "yes!"

Tony beamed, as he stood up and took her into his arms and kissed her deeply. By the time they both stood, the ring was already sparkling on her finger. The team clapped as they looked on, smiling.

* * *

_Ahem, I love Sweet Home Alabama, LOL. I don't own the quotes I borrowed, but that movie is so cute, I couldn't resist using them. Plus, I watched it, like, six times lately, so... :)_

_Also, the case Tony is referring to, when telling Emmy, is the case in _See No Evil, _I believe, though it could also be _Witch Hunt_, I'm not entirely sure. It aired yesterday, I know, because I watched it... Hmmm... I know, I need to follow Gibbs Rule #3 and not assume, double-check, so I will do that and complete the disclaimer at the beginning of the next chapter, maybe. :)_

_Please review!_


	11. Author Note Important

**Author's Note- Important**

I normally never post author notes as chapters, because I feel it interrupts the story. However, to do so right now is very important.

You guys need to know, this morning, while I was at work (still am, til 12, then off til about 4, then back on til 7), somehow I accidentally deleted every single file from my flash drive. Most importantly, two years' worth of college documents, profiles, music files, etc. were deleted. However, with them, the Emmy sequel was also deleted. 7 chapters worth. And I mean everything on the drive, including system folders somehow. This is not a joke.

I am super depressed and have absolutely no clue what to do. I am usually a very literate computer person, my parents and teachers and classmates often ask for help on things; however, in my searches on the Internet of restoring files deleted from a flash drive, I found nothing that I thought was truly legit or that would work. Several results said to download this free backup/restore program from the Internet, which I am not comfortable doing.

I am 99% positive I did not click Empty Recycle Bin. In fact, I know I clicked Restore All Files. However, when I checked that folder on this computer, it was also empty; even after I clicked Restore, my documents were never there (in the bin) to begin with. I haven't a clue where they went. This morning, before I came to work, I transferred some files onto my flash drive from our home computer, the first use I've had of it since it has been returned and backed-up; but since it's clean of viruses now, it couldn't have been a virus that did this, could it? What I was doing, is I was shifting some files around, deleting and moving, and when I do the select option for multiple files (you know, holding down Ctrl to allow for multiple selection) too quickly, sometimes the drive thinks I'm telling it to create copies, when I'm not. I began the process of deleting those copies, and it appeared to tell me I was also deleting several hidden system files, too. I told it to skip those, then it said it was deleting almost 300 files, and suddenly, I watched and everything was gone. I just can't fathom why or how this happened.

I would call my campus computer services, however as it's Sunday, they are closed. And I am thinking, even if they _could _come help me with it tomorrow, or another day, somehow, I'd have to pay for the services. As it has very important things on it, I am perfectly willing to do this, especially since I just got paid and will get paid again in about a week. I also tried to Google my flash drive and find technical support; I did, however they are closed Saturdays and Sundays. On my flash drive and such, I also tried Undo, but it is greyed out, therefore it won't work. It never did.

If any of you have any advice or suggestions for me, please pass them on, in reviews or PMs. The final two chapters of Il suo amore are already uploaded to FFN and will be posted as usual, luckily. However, if I cannot restore the files to my flash drive, I have no other way of retrieving the sequel chapters- as far as I'm aware, I've never backed them up at home, nor in my email- and it is not in my now-aching heart to rewrite it, I don't think I have the sanity. What I wrote was it, and for the most part, it was ready to post. In fact, yesterday I asked myself if I should upload them to FFN, but I did not... Well, it turns out now that is a big mistake. I will try to rewrite, but there was so much... Tony and Emmy's honeymoon, Emmy getting hurt, Emmy pregnant, painting the nursery, Fiona's birth, Fiona growing up... Where I was at currently, it was the last semester of high school for her, before she graduated, and she was in a relationship with a wonderful teenage boy, and things were gonna get even bigger and better for them... Well, no longer... I can't even remember what all I had. If/when I did/do, I will try to rewrite, but I don't think/know if it will/could possibly happen... It was so much...

I don't even know what to do with myself now. A flash drive truly becomes part of a college students' identity, not just for recreational purposes. My coworker Leah is going to come in around Noon and relieve me for a few hours, as I covered for her Monday, so she could go to a church picnic (work was dead boring, anyway, we were both being driven mad by boredom), so when she comes in, I will ask her if she knows who I could contact that does technical support for this computer, and if they are willing to come in today, I will pay them for their services, especially on a Sunday, as I'm not sure anything can possibly be done once the computer is rebooted and my flash drive ejected, but at 7pm tonight, when I close, I will not have a choice... However, she is very computer-illiterate and there may be no one. I don't believe this computer runs on an XP system, so my mom could not help me, as what she sees is different from what I see.

I can't tell my dad or stepmom about this, to ask for their help; they will think I was screwing around at work, doing something I shouldn't, then this happened. I am perfectly allowed to use work's computer, check Facebook, email, etc. when there are no tourists to help, and as of this morning, two hours ago, when I opened, there have only been 5. There is nothing wrong with this computer at all, as far as I'm aware, just the documents and folders on my flash drive are gone.

Sorry for this massively long author note. I have a tendency to never shut up. But you guys needed to know. I will try to post another author note in the next few days, letting you know if anything good or bad has happened. At this point, though, things are looking very bad. Wish me luck... erase today... erase my life...

Renthead07

P.S. This computer does not have Microsoft Word, only Notepad and Wordpad, which just amazes me, because Microsoft Word is only _the _most popular typing program in the world! OK, shutting up.


	12. Author Note 2 Update

**Author Note 2- Update**

Hey, guys, me again. I called the Geek Squad for flash drive technical help and the guy said that, with flash drive memory, since it's instantaneous, once things are deleted off it, they may or may not go to the Recycle Bin of the computer it's connected to. In this case, I am pretty sure my files did not, however, if they did, the Recycle Bin is emptied now, too, probably by me by accident. So the Emmy sequel files are gone. I never saved them at home, ever, to my knowledge. I really, really wish I had uploaded them to the FFN Document Manager yesterday, but I did not. This is a very unfortunate mistake.

I may try to rewrite the sequel in the future, but it will, of course, not be as good as the original, so it may not be in my heart to do it. My mind is completely numb right now about it and I can't think of anything else, which isn't good, because I'm at work and need to be cheery and normal.

I guess that's all. Once I've recovered from this shock, I may try to rewrite the chapters, if possible, as I kind of remember what all happened. It was mostly post-wedding reception with Tony and Emmy, then the honeymoon and Emmy's accident and injury, then her being pregnant, them painting the nursery, Fiona's birth, then some growing up scenes, and finally, leading up to the last place I was, the last few months before Fiona graduated high school, attending her senior prom and such... Someday, I may have the heart to attempt to rewrite this all, but I don't know when that will be. Please have patience with and faith in me that the sequel will be posted up as soon as possible. Thanks. For now, I'm just glad the work computer is fine, and I will have to figure out how to wing it without my school files and such this fall. I'll post chapter 11 of Il suo amore around June 11, then the final chapter will be posted around June 18. I look forward to your reviews and feedback. It's at least something I can look forward to, at the moment...

Renthead07


	13. Countdown

_Following this chapter is going to be the final chapter of Il suo amore, though it will not be the epilogue of Emmy and Tony's relationship and journey through life together. I am slowly rewriting the sequel and had 5 chapters done and was working on a 6th before everything got erased on my flash drive the other day. I'm leaving in about half an hour to go to take my flash drive in to a professional computer repair service place and see if everything really was erased, if anything can be recovered, if it's really dead, etc. I'm willing to pay, if I have to. I'm not getting my hopes up that anything good will come of it, though. I will let you guys know when I get home, what has happened soon, though I don't expect anything good to. Anyway, I am working on slowly rewriting the sequel, so BOLO for it, coming ASAP. Here is chapter 11. Enjoy._

**Chapter 11— Countdown**

* * *

"Tony, I am not wearing that frilly thing my stepmom calls a dress!" Emmy hollered at Tony, as they came out of the bedroom, two weeks later.

"Why not, babe?" Tony asked her.

"I have a strict no-ruffles policy," Emmy said.

"Em, for once, it would not kill you to really be a girl," Abby teased her, coming into the living room. She, Ziva, McGee, Tony, and Emmy were all gathered at Tony's apartment, going over wedding preparations. "As long as you don't kill Tony first; we kind of need him."

"Tony, we don't even have a date set. And we don't have a flower girl _or _a ring bearer," Emmy said, looking over at Tony.

"So we'll deal without," Tony said. "Look, babe, relax, please, OK? It isn't going to be a huge thing. You don't have to wear that dress, if you don't want to. And we can just have McGee and Abby hang onto the rings and hand them to the bride and groom, respectively, when the time comes. No big deal."

"And we have to have fake flowers, because real ones will make me sneeze, and I hate fake flowers, and—" Emmy continued ranting.

"Are you done?" Tony asked calmly, looking down at her.

Emmy scowled at him, stopped pacing, and put her hands on her hips. She let out a heavy exhale. "Yes, I'm done."

"Why are you being so uptight about all this, babe?" Tony asked, not rudely. "I love you, but you know you are acting like a tame Bridezilla. You keep saying things are going to go wrong or not your way— or my way, for that matter— but you are pushing away the people who are trying to help out, too." He gently grasped her shoulders. "Relax. Please. For all our sakes."

Emmy heaved in another deep breath and sighed. "All right," she said. "I'm calm."

"All right, now that we've got that accomplished," Tony said, "think about this for a minute, babe. It's going to be a very quiet, small wedding. The only attendants are going to be your parents, your paternal grandparents, your brother and sister, and of course, Abby, Ziva, McGee, and Gibbs, right? You said your mom's biological parents won't be seen together, since their divorce—"

"So?" Emmy asked, puffing up immediately again at Tony bringing up the sensitive subject.

"So," Tony said, "the reception will be small, too. Much easier than normal."

Emmy nodded. She put a hand to her head. "I think I need to go lie down for a while," she said. "This is all giving me a headache."

"Do you want company?" Tony asked.

"Sure," Emmy said. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him into his bedroom, grinning.

"I hate it when they do that," Abby said, after the door shut.

"Why?" McGee asked.

"It's like foreplay, with no action," Abby said.

McGee's eyebrows rose.

"Don't ask and I won't tell, McGee," Abby said.

McGee blushed and Abby and Ziva smirked at each other.

After a while, Tony and Emmy came back out of the bedroom and sat back down on the floor with Ziva, McGee, and Abby.

"That was fast," McGee said.

"Yeah, well, we have too many things to do," Tony said to him. "Where do you want to get married and have the reception, babe?" Tony asked Emmy.

"I'd like the reception to be at River Farm," Emmy said. "It's absolutely gorgeous there in September, with asters and irises blooming."

"Sounds good to me," Tony said. "As far as the actual wedding, my suggestion is St. Mark's Lutheran Church."

"Sure," Emmy said. "It sounds simple enough."

Tony nodded.

"What color scheme do you want, Emmy?" Abby asked.

"Blue, black, and white," Emmy said. "My dress should be white and I'd like the bridesmaids' dresses to be cerulean blue. All the women should have silver shoes, which goes well with both blue and white. The guys will be in black tuxes. Can you bear blue for a day, Abby?"

"For something like this, totally," Abby said, nodding.

Emmy smiled appreciatively.

"If it's OK with you, babe, I'd really like to go to the U.S.V.I. for our honeymoon," Emmy asked Tony. "It's close and quite beautiful. I've wanted to go since high school, but haven't been able to save up enough."

"I like that idea," Tony said. "So we'll need to get our passports in order ASAP. They take six to eight weeks to finalize and mail."

"OK," Emmy said.

"When do you want to go shopping for wedding bands or rings?" Tony asked.

"We can do that on Saturday," Emmy said. "That way, we won't be working and we'll have all day."

"Assuming a case doesn't come up, I agree entirely," said Tony.

"I called my mom and asked her if she wants a corsage to wear or just a single flower," Emmy said. "She said a single flower is fine, so I informed the florist."

Tony nodded.

"Where are we going to live?" Emmy asked. "We can't fit both of us in either apartment all the time."

"So we'll get a different place," Tony said. "That's probably easier said than done, but we'll make it work."

Emmy nodded. "And at the reception, we'll have our dance, the father/daughter dance, and..." she began, but then she trailed off at the look on Tony's face. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, I just thought of something, that's all. It's nothing," Tony said, shaking his head and rearranging his expression.

"No, I saw that look," Emmy said. "What's the matter?"

"I was just thinking... It doesn't bother me that much, but..." Tony said. "There won't be a mother/son dance."

Emmy swallowed; she felt very tactless, bringing that up without thinking about how it would make him feel. But it had to be discussed.

"I'm sorry," Emmy said sympathetically. She got up from the floor and pulled him to his feet and held out her hands. "Come here, babe."

A loving smile slowly crept over Tony's face, as he stepped close to Emmy and took her right hand in his left and placed his right hand on her waist, and she placed her left hand on his shoulder. They began to sway slowly, and a moment later, were dancing close, to no music. Abby, Ziva, and McGee watched in silence, smiles on their faces.

A few minutes later, they stopped.

"I know that probably didn't help," Emmy said softly, quietly, looking up at him, "but—"

"Shh," Tony said, putting one finger gently on her lips. "Thank you."

Emmy nodded, a small smile on her face. Nothing more needed to be said.

Holding hands, they sat back down on the floor together and began to go over more preparations.

* * *

Two weeks later, Emmy and Tony went to the local walk-in clinic to get the vaccinations they needed, in order to spend two weeks in the Virgin Islands, like they planned.

Tony pulled a face as the nurse swabbed his arm and prepared the syringe. Emmy sat in a chair next to him, waiting her turn.

As the needle neared his arm, Tony looked away and yelled, "Ow!"

"I haven't done anything yet," the nurse, whose name was Charlotte, said, surprised.

"I was practicing," Tony said earnestly.

"You shoot and arrest people, have had plague, been shot, what, three times?" Emmy said. "And you analyze crime scenes for a living, and you're afraid of a little needle?"

"If you had needles stuck in you for three days straight, when you had the plague," Tony said, "you wouldn't like it, either."

"Well, then stop complaining about a little needle," Emmy said.

"All right, fine, you win," Tony said. "But I never said I was afraid— ow!" he yelled, as the nurse stuck in the needle and injected the serum.

Emmy smirked.

"What are you smirking about?" Tony snapped, scowling.

Emmy frowned. "Don't be like that," she said. "I'm just amused."

Tony rolled his eyes, as the nurse put a Band-Aid on his arm. He and Emmy exchanged places and she got her vaccine quickly and quietly.

They had set a date, September 18. They were looking for a new apartment as well. As the special day continued to get closer, everything was slowly falling into place.

_

* * *

_

_I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I know I did. I love the idea of Emmy dancing with Tony, to make him feel the tiniest bit better about not having a Mother/Son dance at his first wedding. It's definitely something I would do._

_The immunizations scene was actually directly taken from the _1968 _Lucille Ball/Henry Fonda movie, "_Yours, Mine, and Ours_", which I also don't own, I just borrowed from it. :)_

_As always, thanks for reading and please review!_


	14. Wedding Bells

_I'll admit I feel a little strange writing further into the future of 2010 than we've been so far this year, including in/on the show. But it's all good. I have five chapters of the sequel rewritten, however I'm a bit stuck on chapter 6. Working on it, though. Please continue to be patient with me, readers, as I slowly rebuild the story. Thanks, I appreciate it. Here is chapter 12. Enjoy._

**Chapter 12— Wedding Bells**

_

* * *

_

_Four months later..._

Tony woke up on the morning of September 18 to Emmy's side of the bed slept in, but cold. He rolled over, took in a long breath, then pressed his face into her pillow and inhaled in the sweet scent of her hair. Then he noticed she had left a note.

_Good morning, babe! I am at my hair appointment. I will see you in a couple hours. Love you!_

_E_

Tony smiled, as he rolled out of bed and went downstairs to the kitchen. His smile widened as he discovered she had already made coffee, despite not being a coffee drinker herself. He could smell the apple cider-flavored tea she had made and drank earlier.

He showered, combed his hair, then finished getting ready, put on his tux, ate some breakfast, and drove to the church. Gibbs, McGee, Abby, and Ziva were already there, as well as Emmy's family.

"Where's the bride?" Tony asked, as he walked up to the altar.

"Hiding," Abby said, smiling. "It's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

Tony nodded. His nervousness rendered him uncharacteristically silent.

Emmy's family milled at the church and Tony went over to greet them, to give his hands and mouth something to do.

"Hello, Tony," Simon, Emmy's father, said. Kelly stood next to him.

"Simon," Tony said, nodding and shaking Simon's hand. "Good to see you."

"Thanks, you too," Simon said. "You know, it sounds cliché, but I really thought this day would never come."

"What do you mean?" Tony asked.

"Well, all through high school and most of college, Emmy was pretty set on never getting married. In her words, 'no one could put up with her for that long'," Simon explained, with a small smile.

Tony smiled nervously. It was just like Emmy to say something like that.

"But she's clearly changed her mind," Simon said. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Tony said, smiling. Then he went to greet her other family.

Eventually, the time came for the wedding to begin. Before the wedding march music played, Gibbs went over to Tony and adjusted his necktie.

"Thanks, Boss," Tony said quietly, nervously.

Gibbs smiled and clapped a hand lightly on his shoulder. Tony went and stood next to McGee, his Best Man, and waited for Simon to accompany Emmy down the aisle.

The music began and Emmy and Simon walked down the aisle, she on his arm. Tony couldn't take his eyes off her. She looked beautiful; her long brown hair was up in an elegant twist, with some teasing curls dangling down her graceful neck. Her dress was brand-new and white. She also wore a borrowed necklace of small real pearls from Ziva. Tony smiled to himself; only he, Abby, and Emmy knew she wore a blue garter underneath, which he would take off ceremoniously later. As for old, they had taken some of the material from her mother's first wedding dress and shown it onto Emmy's new dress.

Tony and Simon exchanged smiles, as Simon gave up his daughter to be wed to Tony.

"Are you ready?" Tony asked her quietly, as they turned to the pastor at the altar.

"Yes," Emmy said. "I've been ready."

Tony smiled.

The ceremony was beautiful. Abby was Emmy's Maid of Honor, and Ziva, a bridesmaid. McGee was Tony's Best Man and Gibbs, Palmer, and Ducky. groomsmen.

After the pastor said his part, Emmy and Tony joined hands and exchanged their vows.

"Emmy, I will love you, I will always respect and support you, I promise to be patient with you, to work together with you to achieve our goals and happiness. I will accept you unconditionally and share life and all that goes with it with you, in the coming years. You are the reason I get up every morning and you make each day bright," Tony said to Emmy, looking down at her.

"Tony, today I join with you on life's journey, to share with you all that is to come, to be your faithful wife, to give and receive, to speak and listen, to inspire and respond and be inspired, from this moment on," Emmy said to Tony.

Abby gave Tony Emmy's wedding band, as he finished his vow to her. Then McGee gave Emmy Tony's wedding band, as she finished her vow to him. Emmy could see the inscription as she put hers on.

_My angel_

The pastor announced them husband and wife, then Tony swung Emmy around and kissed her tenderly, as his wife.

_

* * *

_

_Really short ending chapter, I know, but I wanted to end this story with the wedding, since it focused mainly on Tony and Emmy's relationship. I'm not planning on posting the sequel until it's completely written; that will take the pressure off me, because I am going to have very little time to write this fall, as my class and theatre schedule will be insane. It will start from the wedding night, and go from there. Lots of hurt/comfort and action right away, especially for those of you who told me (it's OK, I understand) that there wasn't enough right off and this story went slowly than you wanted. I'm going to leave you guessing for now! :)_

_Thanks to all who have R&R'd so far, especially my **LOVELY **beta, Tiffany331, who helped me out with the wedding vows in particular in this chapter. You rock, Tiff! This story is dedicated to you._

_Alright, I'm signing off for now._

_Renthead07_


End file.
